The O'Hare Affair
by CavyGirl1991
Summary: A/U/OOC Tris Prior and Tobias Eaton (Four) are both unhappy with the hands that they have been dealt in life. Fate steps in one day, bringing them together when they meet in an unlikely spot, the airport. Rated T/M for adult situations and language.
1. Prologue

**I am so excited to share this story with everyone but at the same time, I am super nervous. This story will be rated M for adult themes in later chapters. I do have a Pinterest board that is set up for this story so feel free to check it out, it has all my inspirations on it for each chapter, and I will update it when I upload new chapters. The update schedule for this story will be every other weekend barring anything crazy happening. I don't own the Divergent characters, just the story idea that is all mine. Please review and let me know what you think! And as always, Happy Reading!**

"Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it."

-Charles R. Swindoll

Tobias POV:

"I'm crazy!" I mutter to myself as I hurry to take out my bright yellow sticky notes and black pen, that Stacy had gotten me when I was in college.

Tris would never want anything to do with me after all, she has a boyfriend, but I have heard how that boyfriend talks to her. He is a piece of shit. I could treat her so much better. She deserves so much more.

I quickly write my phone number on the pad along with something about finding me when she finally got home. I slap the sticky into the inside front cover of her "Divergent" book and look for her in the long line. My eyes are automatically drawn to her. She is pretty, even with only maybe two hours of sleep and little to no make-up on. She waves at me; I wave back. Her acknowledgment of me makes my heart want to leap out of my chest.

As she moves her blonde hair behind her ears, she starts looking through her bag. I'm nervous as fuck, walking through the crowd of people over to her, my heart feels like it will explode in my chest as I finally find her, still looking through her bag. I hear her laugh nervously, as I stand behind her while she talks to a woman in front of her, but I can't make out what she is saying, I'm too in awe of her. God, she is so short and petite compared to me. I just want to take her in my arms, and I want to protect her from all the evils in this world. But, then I think about Stacy.

Stacy, that woman, the bane of my existence at the moment. This is her last chance to prove herself to me or else I am done with her. She constantly toys with my emotions for her, but, on the other hand, she is the only girl that I have ever had feelings for.

As people start to stare at me, standing behind Tris, still not saying a word like a fool, I say "Here, you left this in your seat." She twists around, giggling with embarrassment. Her hair smells like coconuts, reminding me of warm California days.

"Thanks, Four." She smiles as she takes the book from me. Last night, Tris asked what I was looking forward to doing during R&R, and I told her sleep. I lied.

After last night, playing cards with her, listening to her talk about her job, then this morning finding her asleep on my chest . . . I need to get rid of these god for blasted contacts. I should have worn my glasses instead, and I need a stiff drink to help lose my memory of the night I spent with Tris for my flight home because I am leaving Tris behind to go home to Stacy instead.


	2. Chapter 1 Go Go Go

**Thank you to everyone who took the time to review the prologue chapter. All the rest of the chapters will be written from Tris's POV unless otherwise stated. This chapter goes back a week before the prologue so we are going to experience a small jump back in time until Chapter 3 which is where the prologue chapter takes place. I don't own the Divergent characters. Also, this story is rated M for language and adult situations. Happy Reading!**

Chapter 1 Go Go Go

As the music pounds through the speakers pushing me faster and harder, I run: my feet hitting the pavement trying to get away from this life that I am trapped in. My therapist says that I should get out more and socialize, but why should I? I like being alone with my thoughts and in my own head. I am good for nothing at least that is what I have been told so many times that I have lost count. I sense a presence behind me, I pick up the pace running until my lungs feel like they are going to explode. I wish sometimes that they would then I could escape this place, and I could leave him. As I slow my run coming into the housing complex, my head snaps backwards when I hear, "Tris!" yelled from behind me, "Wait for me."

"Peter, hurry your ass up. You run slower than my grandmother does." I yell back at him.

He laughs, picking up his pace, catching up with me, slinging his arms around my waist. "Caught you. Are you sure you need to go see Christina? I'm going to miss you so much."

I roll my eyes sarcastically and say, "Yes, I need to go see my bestie. I haven't seen her in over a year, and I miss her like crazy ever since she moved away with Will."

"What did I tell you about rolling your eyes missy! It is rude. I know for a fact that your mother raised you better."

"Yes, Peter." I smile at him attempting to placate him.

The night before I leave to visit Christina in New York, I am beyond excited to leave this place. Peter yells up the stairs on his way out to work, "Don't forget your winter jacket. It is going to be cold. I really wish you wouldn't go, and that you would change your mind."

Suddenly, he is behind me, holding me. He kisses the top of my head saying, "You sure I can't bribe you with ice cream or something.

I laugh as I say, "No ice cream for me." _Right, that way you can tell me that I need to lose more weight like you always do?_

His eyes darken as he grabs my left arm roughly saying, "Tris, you won't be going to New York to see Christina because I won't allow it."

My eyes start to water from the pain in my arm. "Let go you brute. You are hurting me. I am going to New York, no matter what you say. You don't own me."

I can see his temper starting to fly out of control as he screams "Over my dead body are you going. You live in my house. You will not be going to see Christina." His grip on my arm tightens squeezing as he pushes me into the wall.

He pushes his body into mine as he sneers, "Fine, but don't come crying to me when something bad happens. I need to get to work to support your ass." He lets me go roughly as I fall to the floor, and he storms out of the door to go to his job as a "bartender".

I brush the tears from my eyes as I clear my mind staring down at my right arm, it is already turning black and blue. _I guess I am wearing long sleeves under my scrub top tonight at work_ , I think to myself. I get to go to work and pretend that I am living a happy life, one where Peter doesn't bruise me or say hurtful words to me. I wish that I could just leave, but I can't. Peter has me trapped. My paycheck from the hospital is deposited into Peter's bank account. He forced me into signing papers at home threatening my brother Caleb. He said that if I didn't, he would go to the police, tell them that Caleb had stolen money and food from stores when we were younger after both my parents died. I told Peter all that in confidence. I never thought he would use it against me to keep me with him.

As I head out the door to work, I check the mailbox hoping to find a letter from one of my old friends from high school, Sam, who recently found my address somehow, but my heart sinks when there is nothing from him. My last thought as I glance back at the house is _at least I won't have to see him for another week_. I drag my suitcase behind me walking to the hospital because God forbid Tris has a car, has the chance to run away, or go somewhere without Peter. I am halfway to the hospital when my cell phone rings

"Hello?" I answer.

"Tris, this is Tori, I just wanted to let you know that we only need you for half of your shift tonight." She says brightly.

"Okay," I say trying to sound sad about the fact that I only have to work half of my shift, then hang up happily. I have time to shower and change before I have to leave for the airport. Tori is my boss at the hospital and somewhat of a friend to me. I drop my crap at my locker, head into the ER to start my shift, hoping that it isn't one from hell, smiling because I can't show my weakness or else everyone will know something is wrong. My father always use to tell Caleb and me, "Never let them see your weakness." As I am gathering lab work for another doctor, Dr. Matthews comes up behind me, tapping me on the shoulder, as he says "Tris, how is my favorite nurse?"

"Counting down the hours until I get to see my best friend in New York. What can I do for you?"

"I have a patient in room one. I need an IV placed, hang a bag of D510 at 80cc per hour. Give IV push 2mg of Zofran, times one for nausea and vomiting. I have also ordered an x-ray and CAT Scan, once those are back, please come and find me. Based on the results we may need to page surgery for a consult."

I smile back at Dr. Matthews and say "I will get right on that."

The poor little boy in room one looks like he doesn't feel well at all. He looks absolutely miserable; it almost makes me wish that I could have a baby, but, due to my low anemia levels and other things, I can't. It breaks my heart when he screams and cries as I place the IV in his arm. I take his small hand in my hand, rub his head as he cries from not feeling well, and seeing this young patient cry makes me want to cry right along with him. After I hang his IV and give him the Zofran, I sit with him for a few minutes while his mother leaves to get some air. The little boy drifts to sleep as I rub his head, staring at him, humming softly. As I make my way to my workstation, I see a huge bouquet of a dozen red roses with a card.

The card is from Peter, it reads:

 _Tris- I'm sorry for how I acted earlier. I am just worried about you traveling across the country without me, but I understand that you miss your friend. I am sorry for saying all those mean things I said to you and for touching you like that. Please forgive me. I promise to never do it again. I didn't mean to let my anger affect me like that. I promise that I will start to seek help for my anger issues. I worry about you all the time even when you are at work. I worry about how much you work. You know that we have enough money for you not to work. Maybe when you come back you will think about quitting your job?_

 _I love you and I will miss you,_

 _Peter_

I am shaking with anger by the time that I am done reading his note. How many times has he told me he is going to get help for his anger issues, more times than I can count on one hand. _He wants me to quit my job! A job that I love, what the hell!_ I pick up the vase of pretty red roses and walk off to the break room to throw them into the trash. Feeling a small victory at seeing the roses in the trash, I head back out to finish my half of the shift. I shower, change into regular clothing, and catch a cab to the airport.

 **Please review and let me know what you think! I will see you all around the weekend of May 12th with another update. Until Next Time!**


	3. Chapter 2 Okay

**Here is the next chapter. Thank you once again to everyone who took the time to review and read the last chapters. Happy Reading!**

 **Chapter 2: Okay**

I groggily exit the plane to an excited, blonde-haired, brown-eyed, Christina who is jumping up and down. "Tris! Tris! Tris!" She squeals from the gate by security. I giggle running to her, hugging her like crazy.

"I missed you so much. Look at your hair!" I say excitedly as I look at Christina's recently dyed blonde hair. As Christina and I embrace, laughing like crazy together reminiscing about the old times together and planning how much trouble we can get into together this week. When suddenly, I hear behind me a male voice saying, "Okay, you two. Save some for me."

I turn to see a blonde male with bright green eyes smiling down at me. "Will!" I scream excitedly and launch myself into his arms, hugging him like I haven't seen him in a million years.

"I didn't know that you were home yet!"

"Yup. I just got back from training last night. Chris didn't even know I was coming home until I was unlocking the front door, and I scared the crap out of her." He smiles as he runs his fingers through his hair.

Chris smiles at me saying, "He almost gave me a heart attack. You ready to head back home. Actually, I mean base. Make sure you have your driver's license on you. You are going to need it to get on."

Will drives us back to their house which is located, where he is stationed at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn, New York, and it is also where Christina is living with him. "So my bestie?" I quip an eyebrow at her, not knowing what she is going to say next, "What would you like to do for your week away from the devil himself."

"Chris, you know that I have no other choice. I am stuck with Peter." I say halfheartedly to Chris glancing at Will hoping he will save me from this conversation that Chris and I have had multiple times.

"Tris, I love you like a sister. Hell, we have been friends since we were in diapers. You need to get away from him. You could start fresh, and you could start a new life out here. You are more than welcome to stay with Will and me for as long as you need." _I wish it were that easy, but Peter would come and drag me home, I know he would._

"Thanks for the offer, but a part of me does love the idiot," I say, smiling at her feeling the bile rise up in my throat. _Plus, I can't he will hurt Caleb,_ I think to myself. Once we get to the house Will jumps out of the car yelling, "The last one in is a rotten egg."

I race out of the car, running into the house, with Will hot on my heels. Will quickly locks the door behind us as he grins says "Okay girls, let's play Mario Cart Racing, because Tris, I still owe you an ass-kicking from the last time I saw you."

I shoot Will a wink and ask "What's the matter, William? Are you scared of being beaten by a girl once again? Your male ego that fragile it couldn't handle the butt-kicking I gave you once that you need to prove that you are superior to me in Mario Cart."

He stands there for a second as he stares at me, then he starts to laugh saying "Not a chance! You are going to lose this time. Last time I let you win. Perhaps, it is you who is scared to lose. Now here, put your money where your mouth is." He tosses a controller at me as he sits on the ground with the TV and Wii already on as Chris laughs at the both of us acting like children.

The week in New York is spent with Christina who showed me her newest fashion sketches that she is working on for her spring collection of next year. Chris is a famous fashion designer, one of the most sought-after in the world, and I am proud to call her my best friend. The majority of our week consists of her playing dress-up with me, I pretend to hate it, but really, I love watching her face light up when she sees her designs come to life on my body. "Tris, you look beautiful. You could be a model for my designs." She sings as she sees me come down the stairs in one of her pink cocktail dresses. Will is in and out during the week doing his Army job so I don't see much of him after the first night that I am there visiting except for when I am up late at night thinking about the Peter situation at home and how to getaway.

"Will," I ask finding him one night while Christina is getting ready to go out.

"Yes." He asks eyeing me with suspicion as I walk into his gaming den as he is playing some shooting game. "What is it exactly that you do in the Army?"

He smiles as he says "That is classified."

"And why can't you tell Chris or me what it is exactly that you do in the Army," I ask, pushing him again, wanting to know what he really does in the Army.

Will smirks at me as he says "Because if I did Tris, then I would have to shoot you right after I told you. And you are one of my best friends. I would absolutely hate to have to kill you just because you found out what I did in the Army. Not to mention Christina wouldn't be too happy with me killing her best friend." He winks at me, blowing a bubble with his gum as he walks by me out the door of the den, leaving me standing there with my jaw on the floor, staring after him, wondering what one of my best friends got himself involved in.

Christina smiles as she sees me as she says "There you are I have been looking for you everywhere. Don't feel bad Tris. He told me the same exact thing when we first started dating. I say he is a secret agent, that he is James Bond. That is why he takes off all the time with only a note telling me not to worry, and that he will be back as soon as he can."

"Yeah, but Will is one of my best guy friends. We have known each other for years, even before you two got together. I thought he would tell me what he did in the Army."

"It's because he is James Bond. He can't reveal that secret. It would put national security at risk," She whispers to me as I laugh with her. "Now come with me. I want to go get pedicures in town." She laughs as she loops her arm with mine dragging me out the front door.

On my last day in New York, Chris, Will, and I all go out dancing at a local bar. Chris dresses me in one of her new dresses that haven't been released yet. It is a short red dress that has glitter from the top to mid waist with cap sleeves. Christina pairs it with black high heels that have one big black bow on each foot along the strap. They are adorable, but I can't walk in them to save my life. I trip and fall several times on the way down the road, only for Will to catch me as I giggle from the embarrassment of almost falling on my face.

Christina does my pale long blonde hair into an up-do leaving some curls draping out of the back. For my makeup, she applies a light golden color to my lids with a tint of color to my lips. When I turn to look at myself in the mirror, I no longer feel like the sad girl who can't leave her relationship with Peter. I feel strong and confident. I feel like a woman, I am amazed at how a little bit of makeup can make me feel. Chris, on the other hand, is wearing a short hot pink dress that reveals her back with tall nude heels. She leaves her shoulder-length blonde hair down and curled. She jokes as she applies her makeup about wanting to apply blue highlights of which Will rolls his eyes at her before leaving the room. For makeup, she applies a slightly smokey eye with a shiny pink lip gloss for her lips. Will whistles when he sees her and she blushes. "William, stop. You are embarrassing me." She says as she buries her face in her hands.

"I can't help it. I'm in love with my gorgeous fiance." He winks at her.

"Fiance?" I ask catching on the word slip. "Christina, is there something you forgot to tell me?" I ask excitedly.

"Perhaps." She says coyly. "Will and I were going to wait to tell you, but he sort of proposed last night."

I squeal, jumping up, and down. "Yay! I'm so happy for you. You both have been together forever. I know you will rock this marriage thing. Wait what do you mean sort of?"

Christina blushes as Will says "Thanks, Christina is crazy. Of course, I proposed last night, she just still can't believe that I finally asked. We just wish that you didn't have to leave, and go back to Peter tomorrow. Are you sure we can't convince you to stay longer?"

I giggle saying "I can't. I have to get back to the ER so let's make the most of tonight."

On the car ride to the local bar, I ask, "So how was the question popped?" Wanting to know how everything went down.

Chris looks at Will for a second as she says sounding dreamy, "Well he brought me home a bouquet of flowers because he said that he felt bad for working all the time, and for never being around. Anyways he dragged me out of the house, telling me that he wanted to show me something, and a lot of the people from his squad were standing out in a field under Christmas lights with candles holding signs that said Christina, Will You Marry Me? That is when Will got down on one knee and said this great speech about never wanting to spend his life with anyone else and he pulled a ring from his pocket. Of course, I said yes. I still can't believe he asked me after all these years."

When we get to the bar, Chris drags me out to the dance floor with the orders for Will to find some single young Army friends of his to come dance and romance me. Christina is forever trying to get me away from Peter, and as I am dancing with her, I can't help, but think about Peter and how our relationship began, back in the early days when I see a young couple dancing affectionately in the club.

I loved Peter at first early in our relationship, I really truly did. At the beginning of our relationship in college, Peter swept me off my feet. He treated me like a princess throughout the end of my high school career and at the beginning of college until one day he didn't. Peter and I met right after my parents were killed in a local attack by the mob, and I tried to commit suicide by cutting my wrists. Caleb found me bleeding out in the bathroom, and had me locked in a psychiatric ward.

I was underage, only fifteen years old, so my records were sealed. After I was released to my brother, Caleb, who is only nine months older than me, but the courts believed was nineteen because he lied to them, we were left on the streets homeless, having run away from another foster care home because no family wanted to take both of us in. We had nothing to eat. I was fifteen years old, not going to school. Caleb was stealing food, and money from local stores for us to survive. One day, Caleb and I were running down the road away from the San Francisco cops, we had just stolen a loaf of bread, and I ran straight into Peter with my worn, torn, dirty clothes. Peter, who looked like a preppy school brat with his ironed khaki pants, button-down shirt, blazer on, tie, and boat shoes. He glanced down at me with disgust written all over his face when he noticed the police running down the street after Caleb and I. "Did you steal something?" He asked with a tone of accusation in his voice.

Caleb yanked on my arm before I could say a word, Peter grabbed onto me, as Caleb pulled me behind him, and we all ran down the road as the cops ran down the road after us. Finally, Caleb pulled all of us into an alley to avoid the cops. After the chase, Peter laughed and said "That was the most fun I have had in years. My name is Peter! What're your names?"

Caleb eyed Peter with curiosity as he said: "This is my sister Tris, and I am Caleb."

Peter looked between the both of us as if he was judging both of us at that moment as he said "My parents are away on business all the time, and I have a big mansion all to myself. You want to come over maybe get something to eat, sleep in an actual bed."

Before I could even think about what I was doing I replied: "That sounds amazing." Caleb gave me a look of _what the hell_.

From that day forward Peter and I became friends spending almost every minute together. I enrolled back into high school, and Caleb got a job working as an I.T guy fixing computers while taking classes at night to finish his high school education, and then online classes to earn his college degree in computer programming. We stayed at Peter's house, his parent's were traveling always-on business, they were never home, they never knew that Caleb and I were living there. They would call, send money, and maybe see Peter twice a year for a day, and during those times Caleb and I were sure to be away from the house staying with friends.

So junior year in high school when Peter asked me to be his girlfriend after a rugby game, that the team had won I said yes because I felt like I owed my life to Peter. It was the night of our six month anniversary, Peter and I were making out in his car, and he was feeling me up. "I want you, Tris." He whispered into my ear.

I shivered at his words, his words having the opposite effect on me."Peter, I'm not ready to take the next step yet." I whispered as he continued to kiss my neck.

He frustratingly replied "If you love me, then you will take the next step with me! Do you want to continue living in my mansion that my parents pay for, at no cost with your brother?"

I felt sick to my stomach at his words, I felt like he was trying to turn me into his prostitute. He reached over and harshly grabbed my breast. In my head, I screamed for him to stop, but my mouth felt sticky, I couldn't get the words out. "Stop," I whispered with tears streaking down my face.

"Tris, Tris, Tris, I am so disappointed in you." He said with a maniacal grin on his face. "I thought we were getting somewhere. I thought we were making a deal."

"Please Peter, don't do this," I said, crying, and thankfully he stopped. It was one of the scariest moments of my life. When I told Caleb that night about what happened, he wanted to kill Peter, but I made him promise not to because I thought I was in love with Peter. Caleb made me promise him that I wouldn't have sex with Peter until I was ready, I agreed not to with him as we did our secret handshake together. After that night, I refused to have sex with Peter, until one day when he wouldn't take no for an answer any longer. He became controlling, manipulative, and he would threaten Caleb. He always wanted to know where I was or who I was with. I had two other male friends in school Sam and Will, both of whom Peter hated simply because they were guys. Sam, Peter drove away as a result of his behavior, and I never forgave him for making me lose one of my few friends that I had. Until recently when Sam started writing to me again trying to rekindle our friendship from years ago.

Peter and I had classes together in college before he dropped out to become a "bartender". He would carry my books and bag to class all while holding my hand, and he would always be affectionate with me. All the girls on campus were jealous of our whirlwind romance. They all wanted to date him. He was the star athlete on the rugby team, and I felt like the luckiest girl in the world when I was with him as they stared at us with jealousy.

One day, a switch snapped, and my guy, who was sweet and loving toward me changed for no reason. That was the day that I figured out that Peter hadn't left school to be a "bartender", but to work in the mob instead. That was the day he forced me to have sex with him because he wouldn't wait any longer for me.

"Earth to Tris!" Christina squeals into my ear, drawing me out of my memory. "Hottie at six o'clock, and he is completely checking you out."

I smile and say "My six or yours" attempting to play this game with her.

"Mine of course." I glance backwards because heck. What can Peter do to me since I am on the east coast? The brown-haired man, with suntanned skin, smiles at me as he walks up to me. "Hey, beautiful. What's a girl like you doing in a craptastic place like this?"

I giggle, blush, unsure what to say to this gorgeous guy. "This is Christina, I'm Tris, and we are here to dance, to have a good time."

Suddenly I hear behind me "Uriah, you causing my girl, and one of my best friends in the world trouble."

"Absolutely not Will," Uriah says as he winks at me. "Tris and I were just talking about dancing, and she agreed to dance with me for the next few songs."

"I did no such thing." I laugh.

"You wound me." Uriah mimics being stabbed by a knife in the gut.

"I did not," I say as I roll my eyes at him.

"Yes, you did."

"How?" I ask eyeing and smiling at this beautiful man.

"My pride." He winks at me again.

I giggle as I say "Well first off you didn't even ask me."

"Fine Miss Tris, will you dance with me?" He asks with a fake Southern accent.

I place my index finger on my lips to ponder the question as I smile at him. Uriah is good looking, he is muscular, with brown eyes, messy brown hair, and skin that is tanned from being out in the sun for too long. "I guess."

Uriah pretends to wipe the sweat from his brow and says "I was sweating, waiting for your answer."

As he leads me over to the dance floor, Will yells "Hey Uri, isn't Marlene going to get jealous of you dancing out here with someone else."

He winks at me saying "That's the point. It makes for the great makeup sex. You and Chris should try it sometime."

Wait _what?_ I think to myself confused. He spins me around and back into his chest as I almost lose balance with those stupid heels. About three dances in a blonde-haired girl with blue eyes bounces up and smiles flirtatiously while she whispers into his ear. Uriah turns to me and says "Tris, this is my wife, Marlene. It was lovely to meet you, but we must be going now."

He yanks her off the dance floor, and out the door of the bar as she laughs. "Well, that was interesting" I grumble.

Christina bounces over to me, and she explains how Uriah and Marlene like to play a game called who can make who jealous first. That is what their date night consists of.

"How weird." I giggle as she hands me another drink.

"Whatever floats their boats. Come dance with Will and me." She says grabbing my hand, pulling me to the middle of the room where Will is standing waiting for her with his beer.

So I do, I dance with Christina and Will for the rest of the night. At exactly ten o'clock, my phone rings. It's Peter checking in to see where I am, and if I am home. He orders me to go home right away, which I tell him no. I can hear the anger in his voice as he says "Don't forget, you are coming home tomorrow. You will have to deal with me."

"Okay Peter, I'll leave right now," I say as I hang up the phone with no intention of leaving the club until Will and Christina do.

 **So guess who will be making an appearance next chapter, any guess? Please review and let me know what you think. If you have any questions also feel free to ask them as well. Also, feel free to check out my Pinterest board there are pictures that are the inspiration for each chapter. The link is on my profile. I know Peter is a bit of a pill, but now you see some of the reasons behind Tris getting with him in the very beginning of their relationship and last chapter you learned why she is still with him for now. As always, I will see you all with an update of either the 26th or the 27th of May. Until Next Time!**


	4. Chapter 3 Winter Weather

**Thank you to everyone who took the time to read and review the last chapter it means so much to me! Anyways, here is the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy it! Happy Reading!**

 **Chapter 3- Winter Weather**

"Peter, I'm calling you because my plane is delayed."

"Yeah. Yeah. I know that it is what I get for traveling in the middle of winter through the Midwest and taking O'Hare as a layover. Yes, I know it was a stupid move."

He screams through the phone about how I am stupid, and I didn't think about the consequences. I ignore him. Trying to placate him, I say, "Yes Peter, I understand. I'm sorry."

"We will discuss this lapse of judgment when you get home." He sneers through the phone with a hint of anger in his voice.

"Hey, I got to go," I say gently trying to soothe him, but wanting desperately to hang up the phone.

I turn trying to make my way through the concourse trying to find something healthy to eat which is a hard feat considering that all I see right now is fast food. My head is throbbing slightly from the hang-over, the loud noise, making the hammer in my head pound harder against my skull. It is right before the holidays so the airport is packed. People keep hitting into me, trying to catch their next plane. Many people are trying to get home, back to their loved ones for the holidays. I am not. Home means back to Peter, back to hell, and back to a man that makes me miserable.

The airport is booming with travelers, with people trying to reach their final destination in time. There are many military men and women in uniforms. I can't help but stare at some of their dress uniforms. _There must be a military base nearby_ , I think to myself. _A man in a uniform is wonderful eye candy._ I make a game with myself to try to guess what branch each uniform belongs to. To try to pass the time while I am walking, my eyes getting lost in the sea of uniforms, the game giving me even more of a headache than I already have. I give up my search for healthy food, I am to the point of starving, my stomach is growling loudly.

As I round the corner, I see a place that looks halfway decent. The smell coming from the place causes my mouth to water. As I am crossing over the walkway, I am suddenly knocked onto my butt by a wall of hard muscle. Suddenly, a hand shoots down reaching to me. I look up, and I am met with dark blue eyes staring back at me that cause me to lose my breath, "I'm sorry ma'am." says the stern voice.

I grab his hand and get myself off the floor. He picks up my bag from the ground, and I take in his appearance. He is tall, lean, muscular, probably around six feet tall and one hundred and seventy pounds, has dark brown hair that is cut in a short Ivy League cut with his hair tapered on the sides and back, and he is wearing fatigues. He has a spare upper lip with a full bottom one, his nose is slightly crooked going to the right like it had been broken once before, and he looks to be nothing but muscle from years of hard athletic training. I blush just from staring at him and begin to imagine how his hands, that are large with long narrow fingers, would feel in mine, how his body would feel against mine, and at that moment, I develop a crush on my mystery man, who knocked me flat on my butt. I can't tell what branch of the military he is in, all the uniforms are all starting to look the same to me. As he is handing me back my book bag, our fingers collide. I feel an electric zap run down my spine as I pull my fingers away, and sling the bag over my shoulder.

"Thanks. Sorry I ran into you. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." I say as I turn red, picking up my book off the ground.

"No ma'am, I should have been paying better attention to where I was going." He says smiling slightly at me.

"I hope you have a good trip." He says as he walks down the walkway, and I continue to stare after him, blinking dazed, and confused.

After being bumped by another woman, who shoots me a dirty look, I continue on my way to the food court. My butt hurts from the fall, I'm sure there will be a bruise there. _Great, I can't wait to have to explain that one to Peter when he finds out. I'm sure he will have all sorts of kind words for me_. I finally make it to the restaurant called The Pitt, and I order myself a chicken gyro with a side salad. I eat in silence absorbed in my own thoughts, thinking about the mystery man. My phone ringing brings me out of contemplating life and all the reasons behind the mystery of life. "Hello?"I answer.

"Hey girly!" says the voice on the other end which I recognize to be Christina.

"Hey!"

"Where are you?"

"I'm stuck in Chicago. My plane was delayed, and I will be here for the next few hours."

"Well, at least that is a few more hours away from Peter." She says happily.

"Yeah, that's a plus. Although I know there will be consequences when I get home from this, even though it isn't my fault." I say sadly.

"I told you, Tris, you need to leave him. I should never have allowed you to get on that plane. I should have kept you here with me and Will as our hostage. Peter is no good for you. He doesn't deserve you."

"Yeah, I know, but I can't leave him."

Chris cuts in as she says, "Yes, I know what you are going to say next. You always say the same thing, and for reasons you can't tell me, you can't leave him."

"That's right," I say still feeling sad over not being able to change my circumstances. Chris quickly changes the direction of the conversation when she senses my dark mood. "Any good eye candy at the airport? Any cute military guys? Better yet any cute guys in general?" She asks cheerfully.

"I heard that!" Will yells through the phone as I giggle, thinking about how Chris likes to tease Will when he is home.

"Maybe," I say coyly.

"Take a picture for me."

"I can't do that! Plus what would Will say."

"It would teach him to pick up his nasty uniform, and to maybe start helping with the laundry more." She says laughing the last part as I roll my eyes toward the metal ceiling, "Well good for you honey. It never hurt anyone to look. Anyways, I just wanted to see how you were doing, and where you were on your trip. I have to go, unfortunately. I have a business call to make with someone in Paris."

"Okay. Bye Chrissy." I say.

"Bye Trissy. Call me soon." Chris sings as she hangs up the phone.

I finish my meal and go look at the departure board only to find that my flight that was two hours delayed is now six hours delayed. I check the gate number for the flight, of course, it is the gate that is the furthest away in the concourse. I slowly begin my long walk to the gate, since I have nowhere fast to be. Half an hour later, I reach my gate, and every seat is occupied except for one seat which is next to a man in green military fatigues, who is occupied with something in his lap. As I make my way closer to him, he looks familiar, and that is when I recognize him. _Just my luck._ It's the same guy that I ran into and fell on my butt with. I start to turn around to go sit on the floor to avoid the embarrassment when suddenly the man's head snaps, turning to look my way. "You can sit next to me. There is an empty seat here. That way you don't have to sit on the hard cold floor." He says, smiling at me.

I look around thinking that he is talking to someone else. "Hey, blondie!" _There is no way he is talking to me. No one ever talks to me, not if they don't have to_ , I think to myself, as I glance over my shoulder sure that I am going to see someone else standing behind me as I blink my eyes quickly, wondering if maybe I am dreaming. "Yes, I'm talking to you." He motions to me as he points at me with his index finger.

I let out a breath that I didn't realize I was holding, and make my way over to the only empty seat in the area. I secretly hope as I walk over that someone else will take the seat, that way, I can avoid the whole situation. I take an awkward seat next to the man that I ran into. I take my book out, attempting to read it. Every once in a while, I glance over at the guy to see his hard eyes trained on me, but once his eyes connect with mine, his eyes fly back to his phone in his hands. I go back to reading, but I can feel his eyes on me, and it makes me uncomfortable. I want to confront him, ask him what his problem with me is, but I chicken out. I have never been the type of person to get into a fight. I feel like he is trying to read me, and it makes me uncomfortable. I don't need someone learning all my secrets especially a stranger. I concentrate harder on reading my book. I am in the middle of an intense scene when I hear a voice say, "My name is Four. What's your name?"

I turn to see who the guy next to me is talking to that is when I notice that he is looking at me again.

"Huh?" I ask as his posture changes, and he says more slowly "My name is Four. What's your name?"

I sit for a second thinking, what a funny name Four is, wondering if it is a nickname, wondering how he earned that nickname and the backstory behind that name, wondering if Four is short for something else entirely, and wondering why after an hour of sitting in complete silence next to this Four guy did he finally decided to talk to me. I question if I should answer him, and engage him in conversation. What if he is a trained assassin, after all, he is in the military, he must know how to use a gun. _What if he kills me, takes me hostage? Oh well, at least I will be rid of Peter._ I know Peter would not be happy if he knew that I was talking to another man, but Peter isn't here. He will never know. Four raises an eyebrow, and says "Is your name a hard one?"

It is then that I realize that I haven't told him my name yet, feeling like an idiot. I say, smiling slightly "My name is Tris."

"Tris, I like it. Well, it is nice to meet you. Where are you traveling from?"

"New York. I am going back home to California. I stupidly decided to fly through Chicago in the middle of winter." I say laughing at my misfortune.

"Oh, New York is nice in the winter. I had a friend who used to live out there, but he eventually moved out to California to be with his fiance." He says glancing at me.

"Yeah, the snow is nice, but it is a little too cold for me."

I see Four roll his eyes at my statement. He says "You sound like a Cali girl. I would rather take the cold and snow over sweating my ass off in the sandbox that we like to call a desert like I have been any day."

I am about to question his remark, but he says abruptly "Can you save my seat for me. I have a few things I need to do."

"Sure." I murmur as he walks away. _What an odd man!_

I go back to reading my book, I read for another half an hour, and Four still isn't back yet. I begin to wonder where he went off to. I twist in my seat to look out the windows only to see the snow falling harder. Suddenly, an announcement comes over the intercom saying "Please excuse the interruption, but United Flight 3256 departing from gate D9 to San Francisco has been canceled. Please proceed to the ticket counter to make new reservations."

Great, I think to myself, _Peter is going to flip._ _This is going to be such a fun phone call to make._ As the announcement ends Four reappears, smelling like smoke. I turn to him, saying "Well, we are stuck here for the night."

"Yeah. Lucky us." He says with no humor in his voice.

I leave my bag on my chair to save my seat, knowing that I don't have enough money to get a hotel room for the night. I stand in the massive line at the airline counter where the lady tells me that she will try to get me on another plane as soon as possible tomorrow. I am also told that all the hotels in the airport are filled, to make myself comfortable. I make my way back to the chair to send Peter a text telling him that my flight had been canceled from snow since I know that he is going to be at work. I also mention that I may have a flight back tomorrow. I'm not going to lie, I'm happy about getting an extra day away from Peter.

"Hey Tris, since we are stuck here together, we may as well make the most of our time together," Four says bringing me out of my thoughts of Peter and his reactions to my canceled flight.

"Okay," I say, unsure where he is going with this.

"Do you want to play a card game?" He asks as he pulls a deck of cards out of his duffle bag.

"Which one? I don't know many."

"How about you pick one then." He says smiling shyly at me.

"War," I say blushing as soon as the words leave my mouth. _I feel stupid._

He lifts an eyebrow, shaking his head, a smile playing on his lips as he says "War it is, but I must warn you. I am pretty good at that game."

"Oh, you are on." I smile at him, laughing as I say "When I was younger, I use to kill my brother in this game."

Four smirks at me as he shuffles the card. As we are playing the card game that he is killing me in, I ask "So Four, where are you traveling from?" Trying to pick up where our conversation left off from. "That's classified. I can't tell you that!" He says winking at me as he throws a card down and taking another one of mine.

My face falls "Oh."

He starts laughing as he says "Gee-sh Tris, I was only kidding. I am on my way home from Germany to California. I am on leave for the next two weeks. I am currently deployed to Afghanistan." He says the last part proudly. "Hence the uniform." As he motions to his sage green fatigues.

"Which branch are you in?" I ask quietly hoping that I'm not overstepping some unknown line.

"Air Force. I'm a Captain."

"Wow! That's a high rank, right?" I ask, having no clue about ranks. He shrugs his shoulders and says "It's decent. But enough about me. What about you?" He looks me dead in the eye.

"There is nothing really exciting about me."

He quips an eyebrow at me and says "I highly doubt that."

He looks at me like he is trying to uncover all my deep dark secrets, the secrets that I am trying to hide from the world. "My friend Will is in the Army, he is a Sergeant. He wouldn't tell me what he does in the Army, he told me if he did, he would have to kill me, so my other friend, Christina, calls him James Bond. They got engaged while I was visiting them in New York." I say, trying to change the subject to Will and Christina.

"Oh Yeah. Where is he stationed?" He asks sounding interested.

"Fort Hamilton with my friend Christina, that is who I was visiting."

"What do you do for work?"

"I'm a nurse in a major hospital in California," I say shrugging my shoulders.

"See something exciting about you, Tris, and you said there was nothing." He says hitting his shoulder into mine. "What kind of nursing do you do?"

"Emergency Room, ER, I love it. I love the adrenal rush. You never know what type of cases you are going to get. My hospital is part of a level one trauma hospital so all the other hospitals transfer the medically unstable patients to us. We also get a lot of gunshot victims and car accident victims." I say feeling excited that someone is actually taking an interest in my job.

Peter doesn't care or ask about my job. Four doesn't say anything. He lets me ramble on about all my favorite aspects of my job, and about how much I love being a nurse. "I'm sorry for talking so much," I say giggling.

"No, it's nice to talk and to listen to someone who loves their job. What book are you reading?" He asks looking generally interested.

"Divergent."

"What's it about?"

"It's a good book. You should read it sometime, and find out for yourself." I say joking with him as he grabs my book away from me to start reading it. My phone ringtone for Peter interrupts my thought process.

"Sorry, I have to get this." I say as I glance at the screen "Hello."

"You are in so much trouble!" The voice sneers across the line.

"Peter, I am not able to control the weather."

"Don't use that tone with me." He screams at me, making my ears hurt.

"Bye Peter. I am hanging up the phone now." I say, wanting to hang up the phone on him, not wanting to put up with his attitude. "Don't you dare!" He screams. I click the end button and shut my phone off completely. I toss my phone angrily into my bag thinking how dare Peter think that he can control me, and get mad at me for something that I have nothing to with. I hate him. Four looks at me with concern in his eyes as he says "Tris, I know we just met, but who was that on your phone?"

"My boyfriend," I reply.

"No one deserves to be spoken to like that. Does he always speak to you like that?"

"No." I lie to him, then quickly change the subject of my relationship with Peter. Four and I talk until late in the night. He lets me change the subject off of Peter, and I am grateful.

"So what are your plans now that you are on leave?' I ask.

"Nothing much. I really just want to sleep." He says smirking at me "Which this airport isn't helping with that plan at all."

I glance at the clock and say "It's two in the morning. We should try to get some sleep."

"That sounds good." He says smiling at me as he yawns.

I slump against the chair, close my eyes, put my coat over me, and attempt to sleep. At one point during the night, I feel my head, land on something hard. The bright sun shining through the window wakes me. I am laying on a shoulder or a chest, and I start to panic. _Oh God!_ I look down to see a sandy-colored shirt with sage green fatigue pants I feel a light pressure on my own head. I realize then that Four is asleep with his head on mine. He has his arm wrapped around me protectively, possessively, and I am pressed lightly into his side. His side is nothing, but hard well defined muscle. This is going to be awkward when he wakes up. I maneuver myself from our current predicament. Lifting my hand from his stomach, then slowly slide my head out from under his, Four wakes with a startle when his head drops. He yawns looking at me. I can only imagine how I look now that I have slept in an airport all night. "Good morning Tris." He says quietly.

"Morning Four." I am about to ask him how he slept last night, but a voice comes over the intercom "Will Beatrice Prior, please come to the ticket counter."

I get up stretching, making my way to the counter noticing that even more people are packing into the gate area. The lady informs me that I have a seat on the first plane out of the airport. I walk back to the chair, feeling slightly sad.

"Four turns to me and asks "Good news I hope?"

"Yeah. I got a seat on the next plane to leave here."

"That's great. I'm happy for you."

The voice on the intercom says "We are now boarding United Flight 7865. Please proceed to the boarding area." I look at my ticket to see that it is mine. "Well, I better get going. That is my flight." I say feeling depressed that my time with Four has come to an end. "It was nice to meet you, Four. Good luck with everything."

Four stands and puts his hand out to me as he says "Nice to meet you too Tris. I'm glad it was you who came and sat next to me." I gather my bag, walking away, not looking back at the man who I crashed into, and I slept on last night. I don't get very far when an elderly woman says "Excuse me, dear."

"Yes."

"I hate to pry, but was that your boyfriend."

"No," I answer starting to wonder why she is asking.

"Oh because the way he is looking at you. It is the way that a man looks at a woman that he loves. He was giving you the same look that my husband use to give me every day for fifty years. It looked like you two were together. I'm sorry."

I smile as I say "No, he was just someone that I met yesterday."

I get in line, waiting to board the plane. Four catches my eye, and waves at me. I wave back shyly. I look in my bag searching for my book, which is missing. Suddenly, I feel a hand on my shoulder, and Four is standing there. "Here, you left this in your chair." He says handing me the book.

"Thanks," I say as Four walks away. When I get onto the plane, I pull out the book to read some more.

I notice a yellow sticky note that reads: _Tris- When you get home give me a call. I can show you how you deserve to be treated. My number is 707-896-9087. -Four._

I quickly pull out the note and discard it. Peter would kill me if he knew about Four. As nice as Four was to me. I am with Peter. Four was nice to look at, but it would never work. We are from very different worlds. I am damaged goods, and he seems too nice to deal with my problems. I put my book away, go to sleep, and dream about dark blue eyes.

 **Until Next Time! So what does everyone think about Four at the moment? Much better than Peter right? Please review and let me know what you think about this chapter! Fun Fact: This chapter was actually based a little bit on a real-life experience that I had when I went to a family member's military graduation, I played the same game that Tris played trying to figure out which uniform belonged to each branch and it did end up giving me a headache. and originally this was the beginning of the story but with time that changed. This is also where the prologue is from, but it was from Four's POV to the person who reviewed saying that the prologue was a little confusing. Also going forward any mistakes that I make in terms of anything military related are all mine. I only really have a little bit of experience and all of that is from a family member and google. :) I will see you all with an update on the weekend of June 9.**


	5. Chapter 4 I'd Lie

**Here is the next chapter. I hope that you enjoy reading this chapter. I know that it is on the shorter side, but next chapter will be longer, and there will be some interesting things happening. Thank you to everyone who took the time to review the last chapter and to everyone who took the time to read this story thus far. Happy Reading!**

 **Chapter 4 I'd Lie**

I dream about Four, mostly about his eyes, and, for some unknown reason, it is one of the best dreams that I have had in a while. I wake with a smile on my face, but reality comes crashing back to me far too quickly when the plane lands on the black tarmac; a chipper voice comes over the intercom: "Welcome to San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, California. The temperature today is seventy-six, partially sunny, with a light northwesterly breeze. Thank you for flying United. We hope you enjoy your stay and fly with us again soon."

 _Wonderful! I am home. I am back to my miserable existence._ I get up from my seat, stretching my legs, waiting for all the other passengers to exit the plane first, then walk at a snail's pace out to the general waiting area where the public meets travelers. I see Peter standing there waiting for me by the gate, I force a smile to my face, and quickly walk over to him. Peter is dressed in all black, a black shirt, black jeans, and, over the black button-down shirt, he is wearing a black sports coat. His hair is combed back, and his green eyes are harsh looking as they meet mine with accusations written in them as he taps his fingers against his jacket. He is handsome on the outside; he looks kind, but his inside doesn't match it. Inside, he is ugly. He is someone that I want to escape because I deserve happiness, but I don't know how yet.

Peter is more bulky muscle, whereas, Four's muscles are more defined; he looks leaner. As I look into Peter's eyes, I notice that I like Four's mysterious dark blue eyes much better than Peter's harsh green ones. _Wait! Why am I comparing Peter to Four?_ I need to get over him and stop romanticizing the situation. Clearly, I have been reading too many romance books. Four isn't going to sweep me off my feet and save me from Peter. I need to do that for myself, but I can't. I need to protect Caleb. Not to mention, I threw Four's note away in the trash on the plane. I tell myself that I didn't bother memorizing it because I will never see him again, but in the back of my mind, I know his number by heart just from staring at it for a few short minutes as I contemplated what to do with that yellow sticky note. I briefly thought about putting his number in my phone, but I didn't.

Peter is always going through my phone. I'm not allowed to keep secrets from Peter or so he says. He grabs a hold of me when he sees me and says "Tris, I'm so glad you are back home. I missed you." I know this is all a display for the public to show how great of a guy he is as he looks at everyone surrounding us greeting their loved ones.

I hug him back saying, "I missed you too." The back of my mind is calling me a liar.

"How was your visit with Christina? I want to hear everything. I will have to go with you the next time you see her." He says smiling at me. I can see the anger deep in his eyes, wanting to yell about whatever he is angry about, probably about my flight home being canceled if I had my guess.

"I would like that," I say smiling back at him, playing along with his nice act, secretly wondering what got into him right before Peter roughly grabs my hand as an outward display that I am with him when he sees other guys staring at me, and drags me to the luggage area. He hulks my bag off the carousel, and says angrily "See how slow you are Tris? You are so slow that your bag was the last one here. You are lucky they didn't bring it to lost and found."

I don't reply to him knowing that if I do it will just piss him off even more. He roughly pulls me out the sliding glass doors. He walks so fast that I trip over the curb, and I fall on my hands and knees scraping them, wishing that maybe a car would hit me as one zooms past me, honking its horn. He stares down at me with anger in his eyes as he sneers "Look what you did."

I look up at him from the ground rubbing my hands together as people walk past me staring, no one offers to help me. Peter bends over like he is going to help me up, but, instead, he whispers sinisterly "I should make you walk back to the car like this on all fours, but since you just got home. . ." He stops suddenly as he muses to himself "And we are in public, I will let you get up."

I lag behind, limping as Peter shoots me evil looks, as we continue walking to the car. A single tear falls, but I refuse to give Peter the satisfaction of seeing me cry. I need to stay strong for myself and for Caleb. I'm crying because deep down, I know that I should have stayed with Christina in New York and started fresh. I reach the car that Peter drives, he is already in it, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel looking pissed. He yells at me "Let's go, Tris. You are so slow. I don't have all day. It amazes me that you are able to keep your job with how slow you are."

I try to ignore his comment. I work hard at my job; I take pride in being a nurse, and I am a damn good nurse, he just doesn't know it. Peter drops me off at the house, as I am getting out of the car he holds his hand out and says "Phone! Before I go to work."

"Why?" I ask frustrated about his lack of respect for my privacy.

"You know the drill. I pay the bills. I get to know what you were doing on that thing while you were gone." He sneers at me.

I hand my phone over, knowing, if I refuse to, it will only cause an argument. He looks through everything, listens to every voicemail, looks through every text message, and looks up my browser history. _Shit_! I forgot to wipe my browser history, and I had been researching different military uniforms while I was stuck in the airport eating lunch. He hands me back my phone. Once again, I turn to leave when I feel a rush of air move past my face.

"You lying bitch! Looking at other men, were you?" He yells.

"No Peter, I wasn't. I swear." I say panicking.

"We will talk about this when I get home tonight." I slam the door shut to the car as he takes off down the road speeding to his job where he pretends to be a bartender. Instead, he comes home drunk every night.

The reality that Peter almost hit me in the face smacks me. He has never hit me before. He has grabbed me too roughly and left bruises before but never hit me. I know I need to leave, but I feel trapped. I don't have any place to go. Every night, I hope that death will come because it will be easier than having to live with Peter. I call Christina crying, and she does her best to console me over the phone. I calm down enough to be able to function. I unpack my suitcase, start laundry, and start cleaning the house. At some point during the night, I pass out. I wake abruptly when a front door slams. "Honey, I'm home!" slurs a drunken Peter.

I pretend to be sleeping, not wanting confrontation. He crawls into bed, kissing my cheek, I can smell the alcohol on him, along with smoke. The smell makes me want to vomit. Finally, about three minutes later, he is out cold, snoring. The next morning, I wake to his side of the bed empty, and I briefly wonder where he is. Although, I really don't care. I look out the window, noticing him helping someone move into the other side of his house, that he rents out as a source of income. I dress in a pair of black sweatpants, a pale blue t-shirt, throw my hair up into a messy bun, and I walk out the door to be surprised by what I see unwinding before my eyes.

 **Who hates Peter even more than last chapter and wishes he would meet an untimely death? Any guess on what is going on next door, rather who might be moving in? I will be updating with the next chapter on the weekend of June 23, until then please review and let me know what you think of this chapter!**


	6. Chapter 5 New Neighbors

**Who's ready to find out who the new neighbors are? Thank you to everyone who took the time to review the last chapter and to everyone who read the last chapter. This chapter will be interesting as will be the next one. :) As always Happy Reading!**

 **Chapter 5 New Neighbors**

 _Is Peter helping our new neighbors move in?_ I rub my eyes thinking that I must be dreaming. Peter, never helps anyone move in unless he has a motive. I quickly walk to the moving truck and start to help unload the boxes that Peter is moving forward from the back of the truck, before he calls me an ungrateful bitch, and tells this new neighbor how I am lazy and how I am good for nothing. Our last neighbors Susan and Robert, who were brother and sister, that moved in were fed lies about me from Peter too. He told them that I was a gold-digger while he helped them move in when in reality I had just gotten home from work, been on my feet for sixteen hours straight, and he expected me to help him move them in after I got home. I said maybe two words to Susan the whole three years that she lived next door. Robert and she both liked to pretend that I didn't exist when they saw me, and I could always hear them whispering things about me when I would walk by. Lies that Peter would feed them to keep them away from me. He wanted to ensure that I have no friends that live by us that way he can have complete control over me.

I grab two of the boxes from the edge of the truck, Peter still hasn't noticed that I am helping yet, and I walk with them into the house. I set them in the kitchen and back up. I bump into someone or something. Boxes drop to the floor. I tumble over a pile of boxes backwards bracing myself for a fall that never comes. A pair of muscular arms have a hold of me, and I stare up into dark blue eyes. My breath catches. _Are those the same dark blue eyes that I have been dreaming about for the past couple of nights?_ My heartbeat quickens as does my breathing. This guy looks like Four, but I'm not sure. I only spent about twenty-four hours with the man. This guy has a beard and glasses. Four was clean shaven and he certainly didn't have glasses.

"Are you okay?" The guy asks as he stares at me. When he speaks, I detect a bit of a Southern California accent. This guy is tanned like Four, but Four certainly didn't have a Southern California accent.

"Yeah, thanks for catching me," I say, trying to break the tension that I am feeling between us. I can't help but stare into his blue eyes as he stands me upright, he keeps his arms around me. _His eyes, they look so familiar._

Another girl comes running into the room, with bright red hair that stops just past the top of her shoulders with bright blue eyes saying excitedly, "Honey! There you are! I was looking for you baby! You should see this place! The master bedroom is huge. Zeke did a great job finding and picking out this place for us. I know we will be happy here. I can't wait to get into that bathtub with you later." She winks at him, then she takes in the scene in front of her, as her voice changes from happiness to shock, and she asks, "What the hell is going on here?"

Right behind her, is, of course, my luck, Peter. "Beatrice, what are you doing?" He asks angrily.

I quickly jump out of the guy's arms. Peter's face is bright red, and if he were a cartoon character he would have steam coming out of his ears. "Nothing is happening here." The guy says. "I was just helping. Beatrice, is it? She almost fell over. It is a good thing I was coming downstairs with something when I did, otherwise, she would have needed to go to the hospital. I ran over as quickly as I could to catch her."

Peter still looks pissed, and he looks like he doesn't believe the story one bit. "Yea Bea, here is quite accident prone aren't you?" Peter snaps angrily.

I smile, trying to lessen the tension in the room. "Yeah, I'm sorry. I fall over my own two feet all the time."

I want to correct Peter and tell him to stop calling me Beatrice, and to stop with the Bea crap, I haven't gone by that name since high school. But, I know that if I correct him in front of our new neighbors, it will piss him off even more. The woman who caught the guy and me in the awkward position hasn't said a word since Peter entered the room. The man turns back to her saying, "Stacy, really you have to believe me. I would never do something like this to you. You know that I love you, and you mean the world to me." I glance at his left hand for some reason, he isn't wearing a wedding ring, and neither is she. She turns, stomps away from him, as he walks after her while, Peter grabs my arm, saying "Excuse us for a moment."

As he pulls me out the door, he roughly drags me into our house, and angrily says "What do you think you are doing Tris? Trying to prove what a whore you are? Are you trying to chase away our new neighbors already? It was your fault that Susan and Robert moved out. They couldn't stand you, and they couldn't stand how rude you were to them."

"I'm sorry Peter. I was just trying to help, and fell over some boxes." I say whispering, the tears threatening to fall from his hurtful words toward me.

Peter raises his hand to me, I visibly flinch. "Do you think that low of me, that I would hit you?" Peter asks.

I don't respond.

"Go to work Tris. Please try not to think so low of me. Don't help anymore. I have to go, and try to clean up your mess with our new neighbors." He says, sounding annoyed with me as he is walking out the door, he turns saying, "Oh, by the way, I'm inviting them over for dinner. I know that you are working twelve hours today and all, but I expect dinner done, and on the table by eight tonight." He slams the door behind him.

 _I hate him. I wish that I had stayed with Christina and Will in New York. I wish that I could see Four right now. I wish that we could at least be friends. I wish that I could talk to Four, he made everything seem better in my life._ Silent tears fall down my face as I angrily wipe them away from my eyes as I think that I deserve much better than this in life, but I have no one to help me escape. I change into my running clothes, pack my bag for work, and run to work because Peter won't let me use the car. He says that I'm worthless, and I don't do anything to deserve that privilege of getting to use the car for work.

I put my earbuds in, listening to Katy Perry's "Wide Awake" as I run. My feet pound the pavement to the beat of the music. In my heart, I wish I were as strong as this song is. I run the mile and a half to work and make it in time to shower and clock in. I get my assignment and get my patient report. As far as I can tell my assignment is easy, but in the ER that can change at a moment's notice, after I am finished charting, checking on patients, I email Christina, telling her all about Peter, before it gets crazy. I even try to look up Four, but I don't know his last name. I research apartments that I could move into if I could find a way to save my lunch money for the rest of my life and daydream about a life without Peter in it. Before my break is over, I decide to do something crazy. I go to the lobby and find the phone that is available to the public for use, and I dial the number that I have had memorize since the day that Four had given me my Divergent book back with that yellow sticky note in it. My heart is rapidly beating in my chest as my fingers hit each button after I slip a few quarters into the slot. My breathing accelerates when I hear the phone begin to dial. I think about hanging up, wondering what the heck I am going to say to him if he answers the phone, but I don't have to think too long because the number goes straight to voicemail. _Hey, this is Tobias Eaton, leave a message and I will get back to you after the beep._ I hang up the phone feeling embarrassed. I must have dialed the wrong number because that didn't sound like Four, that guy's voice sounded harsh and irritated with the world, and the guy said his name was Tobias not Four. I deflate like a balloon as I drag myself back through the ER doors to finish my shift.

At the end of my shift, I am dead on my feet. We had three motor vehicle accidents involving multiple injuries that came into the ER. I feel like I could sleep standing up right now. That's how tired I am. That is what always happens to me after high adrenaline cases. I change my clothes, wishing just once Peter would come to pick me up at the hospital, and I slowly start to make my way home when suddenly, I remember that Peter was going to invite our new neighbors over for dinner tonight. _Crap!_

 **So what do you think? Please review and let me know. Tris actually called and we all know who it was, but she didn't know who it was and hung up, not leaving a message. She memorized Four's phone number, and you all thought she throw his number away without memorizing it. :) What do you think is going to happen at dinner between the new neighbors, Tris, and Peter? I can't wait to read your guesses. Anyways if you want to see my inspirations for the chapters, I do have a Pinterest board going for this story. The link can be found on my profile page. I will see you all on the weekend of July 7th with an update until next time!**


	7. Chapter 6 Introducing The New Neighbors

**Thank you to everyone who took the time to read the last chapter, and to everyone who took the time to review the last chapter. This chapter has some interaction between Tris and the new neighbor guy. I loved reading all of your reviews from the last chapter so keep them coming. :) I hope you all enjoy reading this chapter. Happy Reading!**

 **Chapter 6 Introducing The New Neighbors**

I pick up my pace, knowing that if dinner isn't done by eight like Peter asked, then there will be hell to pay. I make it through the door at seven forty-five with fifteen minutes to spare until everyone arrives. "You should have been home half an hour ago." I hear, sneered at me from the couch from across the room.

"I'm sorry. Work was busy. There was a multiple injury car accident that came in right before shift change. It was all hands on deck." I say as I look at Peter, who is sitting on the couch reading the newspaper like he gives a damn about the local news.

"Sure it was. I'm sure you were sneaking around seeing your boyfriend." He says angrily.

"For the millionth time, I'm not seeing anyone else. I am not sneaking around. I work in an ER of a level one trauma hospital. We tend to get a lot of accidents that other hospitals can't handle." I say, wanting to roll my eyes as he glares at me with accusations written all over his face.

I know better than to see someone behind Peter's back unless I wanted them and me dead. Peter is a loose gun waiting to explode, the only question is, when will he. I only hope to minimize the causalities when he does finally explode. A few minutes later, a knock sounds throughout the house, panic pierces my heart because dinner isn't done yet. Peter answers the door, shooting me one last dirty look, as I shoot a dirty look at the back of his head wishing this night was over already. The bearded man stands there while Stacy talks back and forth with Peter. I'm not interested in knowing what they are talking about or hearing what lies Peter is feeding them. I know how these dinners tend to turn out. They are always the same, to stay away from Tris, she is crazy. Those are the type of dinners that happen when a new neighbor moves in next door. He usually bashes me behind my back all night long. I'm not surprised when I hear him attempt to start making comments about me, by saying, that I am the reason that dinner isn't ready on time. I set the table, put the food out, walk out to the den, saying "Dinner is done," as I stare at all of them, sitting on the furniture talking, at least Stacy and Peter are. Her guy looks like he wants to be anywhere but sitting next to her as he picks at an invisible sting on his pant leg.

Peter scowls at me saying, "Now Bea, is that nice? You just interrupted Stacy, who is our guest, telling me the story of how she met her wonderful guy here. You aren't being a really good host either. You haven't even offered our guests anything to drink."

He turns to the guy, smiling "I'm sorry, she is so rude, but you know how it is these days. Parents, they don't teach their children manners anymore."

The guy looks nervous as he glances at me while I see red. If I had a gun right now. Peter would be dead. How dare Peter insult, my parents. My parents never had a rude bone in their bodies. They raised Caleb and me the best they could before they were killed. I want to tell Peter that he could have offered our guests drinks, that he could have gotten off his ass to get them said drinks if they were so important to him, but I don't want to start an argument in front of our guests. I'm sure, by the end of the night, they will think I am crazy enough without me adding to Peter's argument. I say, smiling slightly, "Of course Peter, I completely forgot. I thought you were going to maybe be kind, and offer our guests something to drink."

He grimaces as he shoots me a looks to knock it off, to behave. "Oh no. T. Bea, why would I do that. After all, you are the one who insisted that we have this dinner party tonight even though you worked twelve hours today."

"Wow! You worked twelve today and managed to put a dinner together. Are you Super Girl in disguise?" The guy asks, smiling at me. This is the first time that I have heard the guy talk all night since he has entered the house.

"No, I'm not." I smile as his eyes meet mine and for a moment I get lost in his eyes, then I remember that Peter is watching me as he says "Sure you aren't, Supergirl!" His joking nature with me, makes me smile again as I add "Although I'm a nurse, you never know if I have a cape or not. You wouldn't know and my lips are sealed. Anyways I have red wine, white wine, beer, juice, and water."

"I'll have a beer," Peter says gruffly.

"I'll have a beer too." The guy says, who I still don't know the name of. _Why won't anyone say it!_

"I'll have water," Stacy says smirking. I notice the guy roll his eyes when Stacy says she will have water. I smirk to myself, but quickly hide it, before Peter sees me smile again as he is already giving me dirty looks from his chair for smiling so much because mystery man is making me smile.

"Okay, I will place them on the table," I say, trying to get the hint across that dinner is done, and is now starting to get cold.

As I turn my back to leave, the guy says, "Wow. She really worked twelve hours today on her feet, and she is hosting this dinner get together for Stacy and me. Stacy and I should go help her. Stacy, let's. . ."

"You can go help, but I am staying here. Peter was just about to tell me all about his life as a bartender." I hear Stacy say cheerfully, as I roll my eyes to myself, thinking if Stacy wants Peter so bad she can have him.

I hear the couch move, but then I also hear Peter say, "Nonsense. Bea is the type of woman who wants to do it all herself. She hates it when someone asks her if they want their help. It insults her. Seriously, it will piss her off. She is the type of woman, who if a guy asks her if she wants help, it makes her think that he thinks she isn't capable of doing things by herself. Trust me, I learned the hard way when we first started dating"

I hear Peter and Stacy start to laugh at something Stacy says as I shake my head as I walk back into the kitchen. I wish someone would come to help me in more than one way. I wish someone would sweep me off my feet away from Peter, but I know those are only dreams, I am destined to be here until the end of my days with Peter, being miserable.

Dinner is interesting, Peter plays the role of an attentive, loving boyfriend in front of our new neighbors, while mystery guy and I continue to make eye contact with one another, every few moments, his eyes are always quick to leave mine when they connect, but It reminds me of my time with Four in the airport when I first met him. I can feel his eyes on my face every time that I am looking at my plate of food or at someone else who is talking. He makes me feel awkward. _I wish, I knew his name._ Stacy and Peter get along like two peas in a pod, talking about anything and everything. There is never a quiet moment at the table. Mystery man is quiet, reserved, and he doesn't add anything to the conversation. Instead, he lets Stacy do all of the talking. About halfway through dinner, I notice, Mystery man beings to become annoyed with how much attention Peter is paying to Stacy as she openly flirts with Peter, I don't blame him. If I cared for Peter like I use to, I would be annoyed too, but now I don't care.

After dinner, Stacy leaves to go home with a loud whisper saying "Don't be too long" to her guy as she smiles at me. Peter goes upstairs to get ready for work. He comes down the stairs and kisses me roughly goodbye as a display that I am his. _I don't know why considering that no one is here anymore._ I hear Peter talking to someone in the den as I start to wash up the dishes. "Hey man, you can't be here anymore. I'm leaving for work, and I'm not comfortable leaving you here in my house with my girl." Peter says.

"Yeah, of course. I was just waiting to say thank you for inviting us over for dinner, and for making Stacy and I feel at home in our new apartment. I'm just going to go, and say goodbye to Bea." Mystery man says.

"Make it quick!" Peter says jokingly as I hear the front door shut, and I feel relief wash over me, knowing that Peter is gone for the night.

As I begin to wash dishes, I think about how funny it is that no one says the new guy's name. Oh well, at least he is nice to look at, and he does remind me a little of Four in his light green Air Force fatigues. My mind drifts to Four's full lips, and imagine what it would have been like to have kissed him in that airport. I wonder what he would have done? If he still would have left me that note in my book? I imagine getting lost in his dark blue eyes as I stare into his soul, and best of all, I imagine him holding me and protecting me from Peter. Although it is crazy to think about Four this way because I didn't know him for longer than twenty-four hours. He seemed like the type of man who would never treat a girl like Peter treats me. I shake my head, attempting to clear my crazy thoughts. "Get a grip, Tris. Four would never want you. You are damaged goods." I mutter to myself as I hear "Hey, Supergirl!" Mystery man says, startling me out of my daydream of Four's body.

"Yeah?" I ask, smiling at him.

"Try not to be too hard on the criminals tonight. Thank you for all your hard work with dinner."

"Your welcome, but how did you know? You just blew my cover." I say, lowering my voice as he moves closer to me. _His eyes look familiar. Why?_

"The scrubs, although you did answer to the name, Supergirl. Plus you kind of told me earlier that you might have a cape." He smiles at me.

"I never admitted to having a cape." I giggle as I slap my hand over my mouth. Peter would kill me if he heard me laughing with another man.

"Didn't you hear? Nurses have their own superpowers?" He whispers, his voice low like mine was a second ago.

"So I've heard." I laugh once again. _God, why does this man make me feel so comfortable around him?_

He smiles again and says "Thanks again for making Stacy and me feel welcomed."

"My pleasure." I smile at him as he looks at me, then asks "Hey Bea, what was it you were saying out here alone to yourself."

"Nothing," I say as my cheeks heat, at having been caught talking to myself.

"Oh, I just thought that I heard you mention someone by the name of Four. Do you know him?"

"Nope," I say, not trusting this guy in the slightest, wondering where he is going with this. My curiosity gets the best of me as he is walking away, I ask, "Do you know someone named Four. It is kind of a funny name."

"Yeah. It is. Although, I have heard the guy is a legend around here." Mystery man smiles at me once again.

"Funny. I have lived in this area my whole life, and I have never heard of him." I smile as I watch mystery man's smile melt off his face. "Well, maybe your line of work doesn't talk about legends like Four." He smirks at me as he walks away as I smile at him, shaking my head, wondering what this guy does for work in the area. _Maybe he is in the Air Force with Four?_

"Have a good night." I wave over my shoulder at him as he walks out the doorway.

After finishing the dishes, I head to the den to straighten the area, noticing someone left their leather jacket here. Maybe it's Stacy's or her boyfriend's jacket. I head upstairs to change into my PJs when I hear arguing going on next door. Suddenly, there is a knock on the front door. _I wonder who it is?_ Maybe Peter forgot his keys once again, or he is checking on me to make sure that I am home alone like he does randomly. I run down the stairs, and I throw the door open. My heart leaps out of my chest with the sight before my eyes.

 **Guesses on who is at the door. Do you think it really is Peter or do you think it is the mystery guy from the next door or do you think it could be someone else? Also now that you have seen a little bit of the guy next door, what are your thoughts on him? Any other guess on who he could possibly be? Can't wait to read your guesses. As always please review. I will see you all hopefully with an update on July 23. It could be earlier as I am going on vacation out of the country, but I am making no promises. :) Until Next Time!**


	8. Chapter 7 Playing With Fire

**Thank you to everyone who took the time to read the last chapter and to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. Sorry, this chapter is behind schedule, and not out as promised. But, as I was out of the country still as hubby and I ran behind schedule getting home so I was unable to post before it was back to work for me. :) Happy Reading!**

 **Chapter 7 Playing With Fire**

As I am running to the door, thinking that Peter left his keys, or that he is checking up on me. My mind is skipping to all the ways that he will try to blame me if he did, in fact, leave his house keys. I open the door quickly, to avoid Peter's accusations, knowing that no matter what, I am most likely too slow for him. Instead, there is a man standing on the porch. It looks like the guy from next door, but he looks different, for some reason. He is standing next to his duffle bags, looking nervous. He should be nervous, if Peter ever knew that he was over here, talking to me, without him here, his life would be in jeopardy. "Hey Bea, I know we just met, but Stacy kind of threw me out of the house, my cell phone is dead. Is it possible that I could use your phone to call someone to pick me up." He asks.

I cross my arms over my chest and say "Sure, but I'm not going to let you in."

"Why not?" He asks curiously.

"Because I don't even know your name." I want to tell him that I can't let him in, that Peter has spies everywhere, like Drew, who watch the house constantly while he is at work. That his life would be in so much danger if I let him in, but I can't.

"I'm sorry Bea. I thought Peter told you who I was. I should have introduced myself to you personally, but your boyfriend said you weren't comfortable talking to strange men. I should have known better after dinner tonight. Everyone who is a friend calls me Eaton." He says casually, as his name hits me like a rock, knocking the air out of my lungs, as I begin to wonder if this is the man, that I accidentally misdialed from the hospital when I was trying to call Four.

"Okay fine, but stay here. Let me go get the house phone, and you can use it." I say begrudgingly.

"Come on Bea! It's cold out here. Plus, I forgot my jacket over here earlier." He says, smirking at me.

"Fine, but make it quick Eaton," I say sternly.

He enters the house, I hand him the phone, he quickly makes his phone call, and he hangs up the phone. As he does, he says "Zeke should be here in half an hour."

"Good, then you can go stand outside."

"Come on Bea, that isn't very nice."

"Who said I was nice. Unless you want on Peter's bad side, I suggest you go stand outside," I say sternly, pointing to the road.

Eaton shakes his head as he says "Please, Peter doesn't scare me. I'm in the Air Force, and on leave from a combat zone. What could he possibly do that is so scary. Punch me? Mess up my pretty face. I have had those things done plenty of times."

I quip an eyebrow at him as he laughs, shaking his head. He has the gall to laugh when I point to the door again. "Eaton, you need to leave this house right now. I don't appreciate you laughing at me either. Call me Bea, one more time and I will make you regret it." I say, wanting to punch this handsome, irritating man. I take crap, every single day of my life from Peter, but I certainly don't need to take it from Eaton, who I just met today.

"Oh! I'm sorry. Did I insult the princess?" He asks jokingly. I raise an eyebrow at him. "Why exactly did Stacy toss you out of your house?"

"None of your business, Princess." Eaton grumbles at me "Let's just say that we aren't seeing eye to eye on something at this moment. It doesn't matter anyway, because I'm leaving soon. First thing tomorrow morning, my ass is back on a plane headed towards Afghanistan."

"Oh." Is all I can think to say, after all, what do you say to someone who is going overseas to risk his life.

I quietly say, "Good luck with everything and be safe." Because that is all, I can think of to say. When suddenly a question pops into my head,

"Can I ask you a question before you leave?" I think at that moment about asking about Four, maybe he knows where he is, and what his phone number really is since, I didn't remember the right one.

"Yeah." He stares at me as his hand touches the front door. "Are you the only Eaton in the Air Force?"

"Yes, why?"

"No reason," I say as I chicken out about asking about Four and the phone number that I had memorized that Four had given me. I can't believe Four played me like that. That he gave me someone else's phone number.

He has a tight smile playing on his lips as I hand him his jacket, he replies "Thanks for the help," as he walks out the door into the cool night air. I feel bad about making him stand in the cold in the middle of December, but then again it is California.

I stand in the doorway watching Eaton's silhouette in the night by the road. He sits on his bag, staring at the night sky. As I watch him, I wonder what he is thinking about, is he scared to be going off to war? Eventually, a truck pulls up, and Eaton gets in. I wave goodbye from the doorway, lock up the house again. I go to bed. Peter comes in drunk once again from work. He whispers darkly in my ear, "I know that another man was in this house all alone with you. Stacy and Drew both told me."

I shiver knowing that means bad news for me after he passes out on the bed.

 **Please review and let me know what you thought of this chapter. My next chapter should be up as scheduled sometime along the weekend of August 18. Until Next Time!**


	9. Chapter 8 War

**Thank you to everyone who took the time to read and to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I know that these chapters are on the shorter side, but good things come to those who wait and keep reading. :) Happy Reading!**

 **To my guest reviewer who said it seemed illogical that Tris wouldn't remember Four's face: Remember that those two spent less than twenty-four hours together. Eaton was also wearing his glasses still when he rang Tris's doorbell. Four wasn't wearing glasses at any time around Tris. And yes, a lot of the time people will remember faces, but Tris was also under a lot of stress with being yelled at by Peter and not being able to make it back to California in time like she was expected to. Also, she was very sleep deprived with all the traveling, her memory of what Four looked like exactly may not be as good as what yours or mine would be on a full night of sleep. :) Hope that helps to explain.**

 **Chapter 8 War**

I wake early the next morning before Peter, planning to work a double, to avoid the whole situation at home. I am going about my day, when I get a page over the intercom at work, "Tris Prior, please come to the front desk."

I head to the front desk, "Hey, Al," I say, a smile on my face.

"Tris, you have a call on line one. Some guy named, Peter, said he is a family member of a patient that you are caring for and would like an update." Al grumbles at me.

"Okay, thanks," I say, as I pick up the phone, plastering a smile on my face, and attempting to sound happy like I love talking to every member of every person's family. " Dauntless ER, Tris, speaking how can I help you?"

"Tris!" Peter's sadistic voice fills my ears.

"Yes," I answer attempting to stay nice, especially since I am at work with listening ears. "I'm at work Peter."

"I know, but we still need to have that discussion from last night. You left this morning early before I could talk to you." He says in an eerily calm manner.

"Which discussion?" I ask, trying to play dumb.

"Don't play stupid with me, Tris. It isn't cute! You know damn well, which discussion I am referring to. The one that has to do with another man being in my house while you were home alone. You know the rules Tris, and there will be consequences for it." He yells through the phone.

"Okay, but I'm in the middle of a double shift, and I can't really discuss this with you right now. I have an emergency coming in. I need to go. We can talk about this when I get home." I say, trying to control my voice.

"Fine, but you will pay for blowing me off right now." Peter snaps as I hang up the phone, rolling my eyes, looking at the computer screen, silently cursing Eaton, wishing he had never knocked on my door last night, no matter how good looking he is.

The rest of my shift goes off without a hitch. I start the long walk back to Peter's house, I know he will be there waiting, to have his discussion about Eaton being in the house with me for the short time, while he was at work. I silently curse Eaton out under my breath as I walk the whole way to the house. I told him not to come in, but he wouldn't listen. He told me that he wasn't scared of Peter, that there was nothing Peter could do to him that hadn't already been done, but I don't see him around now to deal with the consequences of his late-night visit. Now, I'm the one paying the consequences for it. I make it home faster than I intended to. I enter the house and Peter is sitting on the couch. He is clearly drunk.

"Tris, how nice of you to join us." He says, slurring his words.

"Us?" I ask, confusion lacing my voice.

"Yes, the royal us! Me, Myself, and I." Peter says laughing at his own joke.

"Now, I heard from Drew, who was watching the house last night after I left, that our next door neighbor, Eaton came back over. Do you care to share why he came over after I left?" He asks angrily.

"He left his jacket over here, in the house, Stacy kicked him out, his phone was dead, he wanted to use the house phone to call for a ride," I say, standing in the doorway, that way I have an exit in case Peter gets violent.

"Liar!" Peter sneers.

"It's the truth! Eaton just used the house phone to make a call." I say, knowing it is a useless argument. Peter already made up in his mind that I am guilty.

"Why did you invite him into the house. You should have brought him your cellphone outside!"

I don't say anything. The thought hadn't even occurred to me. "I didn't think about it." I quietly say.

"You see that is the problem with you, Tris. You don't think. This is what pisses me off because you don't use that brain of yours. We could have avoided this whole situation if you had just given him your cell phone to use." He snaps at me.

Peter is wrong. He would still be berating me when he went through my cell and found a number that he didn't know. Then we would still be in this situation, only at a later date.

"Is there anything else you want to discuss Peter," I ask trying to soothe his angry mood.

"Yeah, you, to stop lying to me about everything." He angrily snaps.

"What are you even talking about?"

"I know that you and Eaton have a thing going on." He says drunkenly.

"Peter, I think you have had too much to drink. Eaton and I, are and were not involved. We only talked for a total of maybe four times." I say as Peter gets off the couch, stalking towards me. I back up, hitting the wooden door. He grabs my arm, squeezing tightly. I know come morning, I will have more angry bruises on my arm.

"Peter, stop you are hurting me," I say, as tears rush to my eyes from the pain.

"Stop lying to me, Tris. I know you two are involved. Stacy told me as much when she called me. Why do you think she threw him out of the house? She saw the way he was looking at you."

"I didn't do anything, Peter. I don't know. I didn't ask him why she tossed him out. I really don't care either. It isn't my problem. Maybe they got into a fight, but it is certainly not over something that I did." I say sheepishly.

"Whatever! Get out of my face before I do something that I will regret!" Peter screams as he roughly lets go of my arm, and punches the wall right next to my head.

I feel mentally drained as I slide down the wall. I want out of this relationship, but I fell like there is no way out. I have no one out there to help me. I need to protect Caleb from Peter after what Peter did to him last time, he saw him. In the bathroom, I look at my arm, and I can already see angry, red and purple, finger marks coming through my skin. I cry myself to sleep that night, locked in the bathroom, after Peter leaves for work, wishing and dreaming of a different life.

 **What did you think? Anyone else ready for Peter to get lost? So next chapter, there is a bit of a revelation for Tris thanks to something happening. Any guess on what that could be? Next chapter will be up the weekend of September 1. Until Next Time!**


	10. Chapter 9 Confessions

**Thank you to everyone who took the time to comment and read the last chapter. I hope you all enjoy this chapter as well. I don't own Divergent. Happy Reading!**

 **Chapter 9 Confessions**

I wake the next morning, feeling like a train has run me over. I have no energy. I find myself in bed next to Peter. I flinch as my eyes adjust to the morning light, feeling swollen from all the tears last night, wondering how the hell, I got here. I know, I fell asleep in the locked bathroom, feeling safe from him, for once, for a few short minutes.

Peter is still here, staring at me, a smile on his face, as his eyes meet mine. "Good morning, Tris." He says sweetly, attempting to kiss me on the lips as I move my head so he misses. "I'm sorry about last night. It won't happen again. I promise. I will try harder, but you just seem to know how to push every button that I have." He sits up on the bed, shirtless, as he pushes a cup of juice towards me. An apology, something that is always too late for him. When I was younger, I use to lose my mind when Peter was shirtless, now all I can think is, that I wish he would put a shirt on. I take the juice, my throat scratchy from the salt of the tears, as he stares at me with remorse written all over his face.

"Morning Peter," I say, those are the only words that I wish to say to him. I hate him. I hate that he gives me bruises when he gets angry. I hate that he is only nice after he is abusive to me. As I put the cup on the nightstand, I silently ponder what has gotten into him, and why he is being so nice. This isn't good. Peter is never nice, which means he is up to something.

"I'm leaving for the next three weeks, Tris." The news is like a breath of fresh air to me. "I'll be leaving tonight. Stacy is home next door, in case you need anything. You shouldn't need anything, though. I did all the grocery shopping yesterday. Oh, I called your work, told them, you had gotten the flu this morning, and that you would be out for the next three weeks per your doctor's orders."

"You did what? Why!" I say flabbergasted.

"Because it is safer this way. Don't worry though, Drew will be watching the house. You will be safe." I shiver at the thought of being watched for three whole weeks, but I am secretly happy about Peter being away for that long.

"Peter, I can't be out of work that long!" I say, frustratedly.

"Your supervisor Tori, didn't seem to have a problem with it." He says as he crosses his arms over his chest, daring me to argue with him.

"What do you expect me to do for three weeks while you are gone, without going to work?"

"You will figure it out." He smirks at me, as I walk away, shaking my head to go sit on the front porch steps. As I am sitting there, Stacy walks outside. "Hey!" I say, an idea popping into my head, that maybe I can befriend Stacy while Peter is gone. "Hey." She says as she looks at me with accusations in her eyes. "Peter is leaving for a few weeks, and apparently, I will have a lot of free time now because I'm not going to work. Do you want to hang out or something?" I ask, unsure what I'm doing. Stacy looks at me, like I am diseased, as she says, "Bea, let me just get this over with. Me and you, we will never be friends for as long as I live here." She runs to her car as I sit there deflated. _What a bitch! What does Eaton see in her?_

Peter packs his suitcase, leaving later that day, and as he walks out the door, I feel like I can finally breathe for the first time in years. I take a walk around the neighborhood, not caring that Drew is watching or following me on foot. After my walk, I call work to let them know that I am feeling much better, and Peter was over-reacting with calling me out, that there was never a doctor's note. After Tori hears that, she asks if I want to work at all, I agree to work the following day and resume my work schedule as it stands.

* * *

Time Skip

* * *

These past two weeks without Peter have been the best years of sleep of my life because I don't have to worry about anything that deals with Peter. These nights of sleep have been peaceful and restful. Every morning, I wake with a smile on my face. A knock sounds on my front door, breaking the silence in the house. I peak through the door to see, Stacy, standing there on the porch, looking nervous. I take a deep breath as I swing open the door, wondering what she wants.

"Hey," I say, a fake smile, plastered on my face.

"Hey, can I come in and talk to you?" She asks.

"Sure," I say as I step aside, letting her through the door. She stops in the foyer suddenly, she turns as I am shutting the door, and says "Sorry, I was such a bitch to you the other day, but I need to know. Did you and my boyfriend sleep together before he left?"

I laugh because her statement is stupid and ridiculous. "Are you crazy? Why would I do that?"

"He stayed over here later than I did after we had dinner, and he was acting weird when he got home before he left before I tossed him out. That is why I tossed him out. He wouldn't tell me why he was acting weird. I know that he came over here after our argument. I heard him talking to you. The walls aren't that thick. Peter said something happened between you two. He told me that he caught you two together, that night in the den, kissing."

I stare at her thinking, of course, this is Peter's doing. She has been avoiding me for these past two weeks since Eaton and Peter left. Also, That is the reason for her odd behavior that day on the porch, when she said, what she said to me about us never being friends for as long as she lives. It was all because of Peter. "Stacy, I'm going to tell you what happened that night. Your boyfriend said goodnight, then left, there was no kiss. I know you don't know me well, but Peter is a jealous guy. Your boyfriend, he wouldn't be alive if he had kissed me. He knocked on my front door. I was in my PJs. He said you tossed him out of the house, that his cell phone was dead, and that he needed to call someone to come pick him up. He made his call on the house phone, and then I told him to wait outside by the curb."

"Oh God Bea, I'm so sorry for judging you. I thought you were trying to move in on my man. I'm sorry, I have been such a bitch to you. Come to my house tonight. I want to make you dinner, to make up to you for how I have been behaving towards you. I would like to be friends." She says hugging me. _This girl's moods give me whiplash, one minute she hates me then the next she likes me?_

I smile thinking, maybe I can finally have a friend who lives by me as I say "Sure."

At dinnertime, I head next door glancing at the dark car parked across the street, and wave at Drew, knowing that the news will get back to Peter. It will piss Peter off because this is the happiest I have been in forever. I glance down at my appearance, dressed in skinny jeans, a flower top, with converse sneakers. I even took the time to straighten my wavy hair for our dinner get-together. I knock on the door. "It's open, come in." Stacy yells through the door."

I open the door, feeling slightly uncomfortable, for some reason, having a feeling of premonition, as soon as my feet step onto the wooden floor. The setup is like Peter's house. Stacy has finished decorating, since the last time I was in here. I see several pictures of her with her friends on the walls and pictures of her with Eaton, of him in his normal everyday clothes, and of him in his military uniform. Then, I notice Eaton's Air Force graduation picture, he looks angry at it, but he looks almost identical to Four in it, except for the haircut and a few years younger. I shake my head thinking, that I must be dreaming. Maybe I really don't remember what Four looked like. After all, I was tired. There is no way that Eaton lived next to me for all those days, and I never realized the resemblance to Four that he had. "You ready?" She asks, coming up behind me as I shake my head, coming out from la-la land

"Ready?" I ask, not sure that I have heard her correctly.

"That's what you're wearing Bea? We are going out to paint the town red, just us girls. We have some celebrating to do. I got a call from boy-toy today, and he will be home in three months with reassignment permanently in California for at least two years. I can't wait! Will you let me dress you up and do your makeup please?" She asks as she jumps up and down. The sight reminds me of Christina, making me giggle.

"Okay." I sigh. "On one condition."

"Yes! Name it!" She squeals.

"Stop calling me Bea. I hate that name. Call me Tris, please."

"Absolutely Bea. I mean Tris! Let's go! We have a lot of work to do." She says, glancing down at my appearance as she yanks on my arm. "What's wrong with how I look?" I ask as she pulls me up the stairs into a bedroom, and she starts doing my hair.

"Nothing."

Stacy arranges my hair into a simple ballerina bun and does my makeup dramatically. When I look in the mirror, I don't even look like myself anymore. My eyes are covered with a bronze smokey smudge and my lips are dark red. The first dress, Stacy pulls out of her closet, she sticks me in, is black and lacy. It is short, with a neckline that goes almost down to my bellybutton. It is cleavage revealing, to say the least. It is just the thing that Peter would kill me for wearing.

"No," I say as soon as I see myself in front of the mirror.

"You look hot." She says winking at me, taking the dress from me, putting it on herself.

Dress number two, is a plain black strapless minidress with a boat neckline is sheer in the chest area and stomach area with just strips of fabric over my breasts, upper arms, upper abdomen, and then from the top of my belly button down is fabric. I laugh as I shake my head. Stacy pouts and says, "Fine, Tris. You have to wear this one. This is the most conservative one that I own." She throws the last dress at me.

I roll my eyes, from the hanger, the dress doesn't look too bad. When I put it on though, I realize how short it is. The black dress is skin tight, hitting two inches below the top of my thighs with peek-a-boo shoulders, and long sleeves. When I exit the bathroom, Stacy's eyes light up, and she says "This is the one. You have to wear my boot with it too. That will complete the outfit"

She grips my hand, dragging me out of the house. I can see Drew's window roll down on the car, he is talking on his cell phone. He must be giving status updates to Peter, as I wave at him. He nods at me "Let's go, Tris." She says as she opens the door to her sleek black Audi with red rims. The red leather seats are soft and they feel amazing against my skin, they immediately pull my body into them. She smiles a wicked smile at me as she speeds down the road toward downtown.

We pull up to a dive bar, the music is pumping out the door, with a line wrapping around the building. "This place has the best wings in town. Zeke told me about it."

"Who's Zeke?"

"Oh, he and Four are in the Air Force together." She says, smiling at me, as she pulls me to the front of the line. It feels like my heart stopped beating at that moment. My breath catches, my eyes tighten, and I ask, "What did you just say?"

She glances at me like I have gone crazy for a second. She says more slowly "Four and Zeke are in the Air Force together. He told me, the wings in this place are the best on the west coast. He is actually the one who found us the apartment that you and Peter had to rent."

My mind starts to spin. Four, he lied to me. Why did he give me his phone number at the airport, and tell me to look him up, if he had a girlfriend? Why did he tell me his name was Eaton before he left, and not just tell me that he was Four? Maybe there is more than one Four, there has to be in the Air Force. But, I asked Eaton, if there was more than one in the Air Force, and he said no, which means Four is nothing, but a liar. Why? Why didn't he tell me who he was? My mind continues to spin in a million different directions as the room spins for a few short seconds. "Tris?" Stacy asks, throwing a worried glance at me as we sit at a table.

I smile tightly at her and ask, "Is there more than one Four in the Air Force?" My voice tight with emotion.

"I don't think so. Four is a legend in the Air Force because of how young he was when he was made Captain. He was one of the youngest in the history of the Air Force to make Captain."

"How young was he?" I ask.

She shrugs her shoulders. "I don't know. To frankly be honest with you, Four's whole military crap bores me to death. Actually, I don't even know what Four does in the Air Force, all I know is he likes it, but I hate it. I hate that he deploys so much. When I was younger, I use to get upset when he would tell me that he got his order, but now I adapt to the situation. I don't care that he flies a fancy plane, builds buildings that the Army then comes along only to blow up two hours later after his men just got finished building them, or whatever it is he does overseas. You don't know how many times I have had to listen to that complaint. Yet, he doesn't want to help me pick out what color to paint my nails next. Four, after all these years, he is just a convenience to me, it is just easier to stay with him then it is to be without him. He makes my life easier, he gets a good paycheck, he is away from me the majority of the time, and he takes care of me. I never have to deal with him or see him. Most of the time, I am a free woman to do with myself as I please. Speaking of which, Tris, do you see that hottie over there. He is a co-owner of this place. We have been talking back and forth for about two weeks now via text, and I promised him that I would quickly see him about something tonight. He keeps looking at me, do you mind if I leave you here for a few minutes." She asks, leaving her cell on the table before I can answer her.

Stacy leaves then quickly returns a smile on her face. Since we have gotten here two hours ago, Stacy has had six beers, and she hasn't stopped talking. It has been easy to get information out of her about Four and her. They have been dating on and off for the past three years. Normally, they break up when Four leaves for a tour overseas which is what she wanted to do this past time, but he told her if she broke up with him this time again, then he was done with her forever, even when he came back. I roll my eyes internally, thinking about how if Four was my boyfriend I wouldn't go dumping him every time he was gone risking his life, just because I wanted space and didn't want to be tied down while he wasn't around. It makes me question if Stacy really loves Four, or if she is using him.

I turn around to signal for the bartender for a glass of soda, when three things happen at the exact same time; one I see Stacy go over to the co-owner again, run her hands up the man's arms as he leans down to whisper something into her ear, making me think that this isn't the first time that she is meeting him. Then, he starts to kiss her, and he pulls her into a back room. Two, the game on the tv gets interrupted for breaking news about the increase in the number of murders that have been happening in the state where whole families have been being killed. There doesn't seem to be a link between the killings yet. And third, Stacy's phone starts to vibrate against the table with Four's name on it.

 **Please review!** **Thoughts on Stacy? Also now that we all really know that Eaton is Four, not that everyone didn't know it already, what do you think about Four/Eaton? Any guesses on what is going to happen next? Anyways if anyone wants to see the inspiration for Tris's dresses that Stacy dresses her up in, those can be found on my Pinterest board, the link is located on my profile. The next chapter will be up the weekend of September 15. Until Next Time.**


	11. Chapter 10 What Is The Truth?

**Here is the next chapter a little earlier than Saturday like normal. Thank you to everyone who continues to read and review this story. This chapter is a little shorter, but it needed to be cut here for reasons. Hope you all enjoy. Happy Reading!**

 **Chapter 10 What Is The Truth?**

I ignore the phone, watching the tv, feeling sorry for the families left behind by the murders, knowing the survivor's guilt all too well. Stacy's phone rings again, for the third time in the last minute. I answer the phone, thinking it might be an emergency.

"Hello," I ask, unsure of how to answer her phone. "This is Stacy's phone."

"Who is this, and why are you answering her phone?" Asks the person on the other end, his voice ordering, as he speaks.

"This is her next-door neighbor, and she is currently in the bathroom. Can I take a message for her?"

"Bea?" Asks the voice, uncertainty ringing in it. "Don't call me that!" I snap angrily. "I hate that name."

"Okay, Princess. What name do you want to be called?" My heartbeat picks up as he calls me princess, for some reason. I wish my heart would stop beating so quickly as he speaks to me.

"Nothing, Four," I snap at him.

"How do you know my name?" He asks, suspiciously.

"Oh, I know quite a lot about you. I know that you are a Captain in the Air Force, and you were pretty damn young when you were promoted, but when I asked you about it, you kept deflecting, changing the topic from you to me. I know that you gave me your cell phone number in an airport, in the front cover of my book, and told me to look you up even though you had a girlfriend for the past three years." I say, snapping angrily at him.

"Tris?" He asks, with curiosity lacing his voice.

"What?" I snap at him.

"At the time-" He starts, but I cut him off. Not wanting to hear another word out of his lying mouth.

"Save it, Four. I don't want to talk to you ever again. You lied. You gave your phone number to a girl, who had a boyfriend, and you weren't even available yourself. Goodbye Four. I'll let Stacy know you called." I say as I hang up the phone, angrily, realizing that the man who I had been romanticizing is nothing like I thought he was in real life, and he isn't my prince charming, who is going to come and save me from Peter.

Stacy comes back to the table, ten minutes later, with her hair a mess and her lipstick missing. She looks at me, her phone in my hand. "What are you doing with that? And why do you look sad now?"

"No reason," I say as I attempt to cover up the fact that her boyfriend is not who I thought he was when I first met him. I continue by telling her, "Oh, Four called while you were busy with Eric."

"What did you say? What did he want? I assume you answered it since you have my phone in your hands."

"I told him you were in the bathroom, and that you would call him back. He called three times. I picked it up the third time. I thought it was an emergency, that is the only reason why I picked it up."

Stacy rolls her eyes, as she says, "It always is an emergency with Four. I better call him back before he loses it. Did you tell him about the guy, Eric, who I went off with?"

"No. Why would I do that, Stacy?"

"Damn, I'll just have to tell him myself. I need to make him jealous." I quip an eyebrow at her as she continues explaining, "Because it wasn't him here with me, kissing me." She giggles, as my mouth falls open as she happily dials her phone, a smirk playing on her lips.

Stacy sits at the bar talking openly to Four about her latest conquest with a guy. They are on speakerphone for all to hear. I feel sorry for him. You can hear the anger in his voice as he tries to keep his voice under control as he says, "Stacy when I get home, I want you out of my house. No more funny business. We are done!" She laughs, as she says, "Okay baby, whatever you say."

"I'm not joking, Stacy!" He yells finally losing his temper, as she laughs again, hanging up the phone with glee in her eye, saying "He is pissed, and I love it. It will make all for the better makeup sex when he gets home."

"Stacy, he told you to move out, and that it was over. I heard him." I say as I stare at her like she is out of her mind, crazy.

"Quiet Tris! He always says crap like that, all the time, he will get over it. To Four, this is all a game. By the time he gets home in three months, he will be fine, trust me. You wait and see."

By the time, Stacy and I get home, Stacy is falling over, she falls up the front stairs to the door. She laughs at herself as I watch her make a fool of herself, she laughs, "Goodnight Tris. Thanks for coming out with me tonight. We should do it more often. You aren't as bad as Peter says you are."

"Thanks, I think," I mutter as I shut the door on her, and as soon as the door shuts, I throw my cell phone, it bounces off the couch, landing with a thud. I slide to the floor, in front of the door, in tears. I can't believe that I found Four, that he has a girlfriend, who cheats on him, then brags to him about cheating on him. I crawl over to the couch, and cry myself to sleep, regretting the day that Four and I ever ran into each other in that stupid airport. As I cry, I vow to stay away from him when he comes home from Afghanistan, to let him live his life with Stacy.

 **Thoughts? Please review and let me know what you thought of this chapter. What does everyone think of Stacy? Does anyone feel sorry for Four? Next chapter will be up on the weekend of September 29th.**


	12. Chapter 11 Begin Again

**Thanks to everyone who continues to read this story and reviewed the last chapter. I don't own Divergent. Happy Reading!**

 **Chapter 11 Begin Again**

A dark shadow, looms over me, blocking the sunlight, and suddenly, the air is knocked out from my lungs. My eyes fly open, and I stare into Peter's hard, anger filled, green eyes. He looks pissed.

"Where the fuck have you been?" He screams at me. "I have been calling your cell phone for the past eight hours, and you haven't picked up once."

"I've been sleeping," I say, trying to catch my breath.

"What the fuck are you wearing?" He asks, his voice hard, taking in my appearance in the dress, the one that Stacy made me wear.

"Stacy, made me go out with her last night. Ask Drew if you don't believe me. He saw everything."

"I know, I heard. You look like a cheap whore." He sneers at me. "I can't believe that you went out like that. I'm sure you liked all the attention you got in that dress. Didn't you? Did you sleep with anyone?" He asks, accusing me, his eyes filling with even more hatred.

I roll my eyes at the idiotic statement, "Oh please, Peter!"

His voice softens as he says, "I'm sorry, Tris. It's just, I saw the news this morning, about all the killings that have been happening in the area, and I got worried when Drew told me what bar you and Stacy went to. That bar is owned by a rival mob, and I was worried about your safety, I was worried that something had happened to you when you didn't answer your phone. That's why I am home early."

"Right! It has nothing to do with the fact that I went out last night." I say, getting annoyed that Peter is home early. That my freedom is gone now.

Peter glares at me, as he hovers over me. "Fine, you caught me. I missed you." He kisses me on the cheek, I flinch, then he pulls me onto his lap, tightly against his chest, hugging me.

"Let me go. You are starting to creep me out, Peter." I say, pushing him away. He lets me go with no complaints. I find his behavior odd.

For the next three months; Peter acts weird, those are the only words that I can use to describe him. He is kind and loving towards me. He acts like when we first started dating, and I know something is up. It is nice having the old Peter back, and not having to worry about being manhandled every time that I do or say something wrong, but I know that the old Peter will be short-lived. That the new Peter, mean, abusive Peter, is lurking somewhere under the surface. Every week, he disappears for a day or two, only for the news to report another killing in the area. The news reports that there are no leads in the investigation that the police have ongoing, and they are asking for the public's help. I shake my head each time that I see the news wondering who is behind all these ruthless killings.

Stacy and I spend time in each other's homes for the next three months. My eyes always linger on the photographs of Four and her. I wish she realized how lucky she was to have someone who loved her and put up with all of her shit. For the three months that Stacy and I spend together. She moans and groans about being bored with nothing to do. One day, I say, "Why don't we mail a box or something to Four?" Getting tired of hearing her complain all month long about wanting to go out to another bar and get drunk or something.

"That sounds like a great idea. Maybe it will help me get back into his good graces." She grins as she grabs some supplies. "He refuses to talk to me every time that I try to call him." She whines as she sits there as she paints her nails. "Maybe he was serious about you two being over," I say.

"I doubt it, Tris. Four and I have a very long history together." She grins at me as she blows on her nails to make them dry.

"You going to help me with this?" I ask, pointing to all the supplies on the table. She shakes her head as she says, "Nope, that is all for you. I'm not creative at all."

I shake my head at her as I put together packages for Four to send to him of his favorite things. She tells me that they are called care packages. On the inside of each box, I decorate the boxboard, turning it from brown to any color I can think of with designs and themes. Stacy sends Four notes in each box, telling him how sorry she is about cheating on him, and how she will never do it again. How she loves him with all her heart, and that she misses him, but Four never sends anything back to her. One day, as I am taping up one of his final boxes, with the theme of orange, one of the panels reading 'Orange You Glad It's Almost Over.' I slip a short note into the box that reads:

 _Hope you are doing well ~Tris_

I don't expect anything back from Four as he hasn't been sending anything to Stacy, but two days before Four is scheduled to come home. I find a letter addressed to me in the mailbox from none other than Four. I open the letter while Peter is gone, eager to read what it says,

 _Tris,_

 _I am doing well, thank you for all the boxes. I know Stacy isn't the one doing them really as she isn't talented like that, and I have never received anything like that before from her. I assume it is you behind the boxes. I am sorry for everything that you think I did wrong. I am sorry for lying to you. There is so much that I need to tell you when I get home. Can we be friends, at least?_

 _~Four_

My mind screaming yes, I want to be friends with Four, but I also need to know why he lied to me. Why led me on, and made me think he was available when he wasn't when we first met in that airport.

The day before Four is scheduled to come home, the doorbell rings. Stacy runs to it, she opens the door to a man, who says "I have flowers for a Stacy Harrington."

"That's me!" She says excitedly.

"Oh my goodness. Look at these, Tris. They are beautiful."

My interest is peaked as I ask "Who are they from? Are they from Four?" Stacy quips an eyebrow at me as she says "Please Tobias, send me flowers. Are you crazy? That man has never sent me flowers. These are from Eric. He is the guy from the bar all those months ago. We have been talking and seeing each other nonstop. He is just so sweet." She throws the yellow roses into a vase.

"Won't Four see those, and didn't he tell you no more funny business while he was away? Didn't you tell him that you weren't cheating on him anymore while he was gone? You were lying to him!"

"Yeah, but I'll just tell him, they are from my mom for my birthday." She says tearing up the card, tossing it into the trash. "What he doesn't know won't hurt him. Now come, help me, hang up this sign, and the decorations. I have a date with Eric tonight, and you are coming with me as my cover story."

I groan, saying, "I can't, Stacy. Peter won't let me. Plus, I have to work tonight."

"I have already cleared it. Peter told me you could go out, and I will get you home at a reasonable hour before work. I promise." She drags me out the door, to her car, and to a sketchy hotel.

"Watch my phone. If Four calls, tell him I'm decorating, and I will call him later." She says as she leaves me in the lobby.

Not even twenty minutes later, her phone is ringing with Four's name on the screen. "Yes Four. She is busy and will call you later." I say, trying to keep my voice from breaking, feeling horrible for lying to him. This is the first time that I have talked to him since I confirmed Eaton and Four were the same person. "Tris?" He asks, and I can hear the smile in his voice.

"I need to go. Stacy will call you later. She is decorating."

"Where are you two because you certainly aren't home."

"How do you know that?" I ask, feeling my heart rate pick up.

"The background noise."

"Stacy needed to go to the store to get more decorations," I say, lying through my teeth.

"Where are you?" I ask, although, I know I shouldn't care, I do.

"Dallas, Texas. Waiting for my next flight. Are you going with Stacy tomorrow to pick me up?"

"No, why would I? Do you miss me or something?" I ask, teasing him.

"Or something." He whispers "It seems that you and Stacy have gotten close these past three months, and have been spending a lot of time together. You are all she ever talks about, that and how great you are at least that is what she writes about in her letters to me. Thank you for being there for her through all of this. Thank you for being such a good friend and neighbor. Listen, I got to go. My plane is starting to board. Maybe when I get home and settled back down, and work things out with Stacy. Stacy and I can take you out as a thank you."

"Sure Four," I say, knowing that Peter will never allow it.

"Okay Tris, I got to go. Goodbye."

"Safe travels Four," I whisper. I wish he knew that Stacy was still cheating on him.

Two hours later, Eric and Stacy can be seen across the lobby, kissing and separating. "You ready for dinner?"

"Sure, Four called."

"Oh did you say that I was decorating."

"Yeah, I did. He was in Texas, waiting to board his plane. Isn't he going to be in California tonight? I ask.

"Yeah, he will be, but he needs to be debriefed before all the soldiers are released. That takes hours. I'll pick him up tomorrow, sometime."

Stacy and I eat, then head back to the house to finish decorating. "You know Eric and I are going to keep seeing each other, right." She says, a smile on her face.

"What about Four?"

"I'm going to stay with him, remember Four is a convenience for me, Tris. I love Eric and Four, but I love Eric so much more than I could ever love Four. You don't understand. You and Peter have been together forever. If Eric ever dumps me then I have Four as a backup already there." I shake my head, not knowing what to say to her as I walk out the door into the warm night air, grabbing my bag from the porch, to begin my walk to the hospital.

That night, in the ER, it seems like all the lunatics are out, with the full moon. The psychiatric ward is full, along with the observation room, and as I am walking by, one of the patients tosses a bedside tray on the ground and throws it against the window when a nurse tells him to take his medication. By the end of my shift, I am not looking forward to my long walk home. My feet hit the pavement, I drag my bag behind me, and I wish I could close my eyes for just five minutes. I feel emotionally and physically drained from this shift. My feet fall off the curb just as a big black Ford Raptor truck comes barreling up the road, driving way past the speed limit. My eyes snap open as I run back onto the sidewalk, out of the way from being hit. "Asshole!" I yell at the truck as it passes.

Fancy truck people, thinking they own the road. The breaks on the truck slam on, causing the truck to screech to a stop a few feet from me. I stop walking, scared. _Nice going loud mouth_ , I think to myself. Good thing I have a bottle of salt water in my scrub top for protection since Peter won't give me mace or anything. I start walking, my heart speed picking up, my breaths coming in shallow pants, my hands on the open bottle of salt water. As I begin to walk by the truck, the window rolls down. My eyes widen at the sight before me.

 **Who is in the truck? What you think about this new development with Peter being nice to Tris, do you think he is up to something? What do you think about Stacy and Eric? I will see you all with an update on the weekend of October 13th, until next time. Please review and let me know what you thought of this chapter.**


	13. Chapter 12 40oz Dream

**Thank you to everyone who continues to read and support this story. Thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter. Here is the next chapter as promised. Happy Reading!**

 **Chapter 12 40oz Dream**

"Tris? What the hell are you doing, walking out here at seven o'clock in the morning? I'm all for exercise, but isn't this early?" Four asks as he looks at me. I stare at the man, who shouldn't be home for another eight hours according to Stacy.

He quips an eyebrow at me, as he says, "Are you speechless Tris? You screamed at me when I almost hit you. I'm sorry about that."

"I'm walking because I'm trying to get home. I'm not exercising." I mumble at him.

"Come, get into the truck, I will give you a ride home." He says, smiling at me. "You look exhausted."

"I am. It was a rough night."

"Why doesn't Peter ever pick you up?" He asks as he puts the truck into drive. I start to laugh. "Peter ever pick me up! Yeah right! I'm an inconvenience to him. The real question is, why you are driving like a bat out of hell? Aren't you like home eight hours early."

Four smiles at me as he says "That's not for you to worry about Princess. Stacy, on the other hand, is in trouble. She was supposed to meet me at the Air Force base this morning at six, after my debriefing, but she never showed. Any ideas where she is?"

"None," I say. "Work, remember."

He smiles at me, as he says "Right, sorry, travel always messes with my brain for the first few hours. Plus, I'll let you in on a secret of mine." He says lowering his voice as if he is telling me a secret.

"What?" I ask, lowering my voice as well.

"I hate flying." He says looking grim.

I burst out laughing, "I'm sorry, but aren't you a pilot?"

He smiles at me saying, "Yeah, I love flying like that, but flying when someone else has my life in their hands. No thank you. Do you mind if I make a quick stop on the way home."

"I guess not." Thinking about how I will already have to deal with Peter's reaction, when I get home, when he sees me in the car, with another man.

Four parks in front of a store, he turns to me, as he says, his eyes staring into mine. "You wanna stay in here or come in?"

"Stay here," I say, as I feel my eyes get heavy, and I try to fight off sleep. "Okay, I'll try to be quick. I promise." He says as he leaves the truck, my eyes getting heavier and heavier. Maybe just for a few minutes, I'll shut my eyes. Gentle fingertips against my cheek, wake me, as whispers of "Tris, wake up. We're home," rouse me from my slumber.

I glance around startled, as I stare into deep blue eyes. "I'm sorry I fell asleep," I say looking at the dash, realizing the time. _Oh shit! Peter is going to kill me._ It is ten thirty in the morning. I jump away from Four's fingers, that are still resting on my cheek, throw open the truck's door, and run into the house like the car seat is on fire.

"Peter!" I yell, but I am met with the silence in the house. It is then, I remember, Peter told me that he was going away until tomorrow night for work. Exhaustion claims me as I sit on the couch, and fall asleep on it. My sleep is interrupted by banging and yelling coming from next door. _What the hell?_ I glare at the wall. Another bang hits the wall. I walk over to the wall and hit it with all my might, hoping that those two will get my point; to be quiet, to stop the yelling, instead, all I hear is,

"How could you Stacy!" Being yelled by Four.

"I'm sorry. It's just something that happened. I didn't mean for it."

"You told me you had stopped all this in your letters! How long have you been sleeping around?"

"With Eric, for three months, since you left."

"Have there been others?"

" I have been having affairs with other guys, on and off, for several years, every time, that you came home."

"You have been having an affair behind my back, while I was over there risking my neck? How selfish can you be? How selfish do you get?"

"Tobias, I-"

"Don't you dare, tell me that you love me! We are done! I want you gone by tonight! Get out! I am serious this time!" Four yells.

"I'm sorry!" Stacy cries.

"No sorry isn't enough this time. I have taken you back time after time again. Every time that I left, and you wanted to break up, I gave it to you. I was miserable, but I wanted to make you happy. All I wanted was three months of your faithfulness. Then to find out that you have been sleeping around with other guys for several years, and that some of those men were in my flight, that I was in charge of. I was thinking about proposing tonight, Zeke was right when he told me; not to even think about it, that you were trouble, that this relationship was toxic. I should have listened to him from the very beginning, from when we first got back together after our initial break up. You care for no one, but yourself especially after everything that happened between us."

I can hear the front door being slammed with a truck racing down the road. A knock on my front door breaks the silence in the house, making me jump from my position next to the wall. I quickly open the door, behind the door, Stacy is standing on the porch, next to her suitcase, with tears rolling down her face. "He broke up with me. He was serious. He found out about Eric, about all the other affairs that I ever had, since we have been together, and he threw me out of the house. He was thinking of proposing tonight, and I would have told him no if he had. I would have broken his heart. I was stupid, Tris! Watch out for him for me, please."

I stare at her, as she stands there crying in the doorway and ask the one question that is plaguing my brain since she started talking about Eric. "How did Four find out?"

"Four found Eric and me in bed together this morning. He punched Eric repeatedly, threw him into a wall. He tried to kill him, so I told Four everything to get him to stop the violence. I told him what has been happening between Eric and me, about how much I love Eric, about how I love Eric more than him, and how I have been playing him. I told him how I have been cheating on him with various men from his flight and around town for over a year. I told him that I have been cheating on him for years, and that was the nail in the coffin, so the speak. I guess my decision was made for me, and I didn't even get a choice in the matter. I will see you around, Tris." She says, giving me a hug, then she takes off down the road in her Audi, leaving me speechless.

I call Christina that night, to tell her the gossip happening between my neighbors, and to tell her how weird Peter is acting. "I'm telling you, Tris, he is up to no good. He is never nice. Watch yourself."

Another knock interrupts my conversation with Christina. "I'll call you later Chris. There is someone here. It might be one of Peter's lackeys like Drew."

"Okay. Bye. Be careful."

"I will," I say as I hang up the phone and answer the door.

Four is standing there, staring down at his feet, turned around, scanning the street. He turns when he hears the door open and comes through the door without permission.

"Tris!" He slurs.

"Yes," I ask.

"I have wanted to tell you this for a while since the airport, but Stacy and I weren't together when I gave you my phone number. I wasn't leading you on. I think you are beautiful, and I hope that you don't hate me after I do this, but I have wanted you since you fell into my arms in my kitchen when I was moving in."

 _His lips gently press into mine at first as his hands caress my face, sliding down my body coming to rest on my sides. His kiss gets more aggressive as his tongue slides into my mouth, and my hands go into his hair. He presses me into the wall. He nips at my lip, grabs ahold of my leg, hitching it around his hip. It is in that moment, that my senses come back to me, that my front door is wide open, that Drew is watching, and will tell Peter that I am standing here kissing Four. I pull away from him quickly, and with my fingertips to his chest, I push him away. "Four, if you know what is good for you, you will leave and never come back. You must find somewhere else to live. You need to get another apartment before Peter comes back tomorrow! Go live with one of your friends. Peter will kill you when he finds out about what you just did. We can't be friends anymore." I say, feeling sad, having just had the best kiss of my life._

 _He slumps back against the wooden door, looking at me as he says "I can_ not _, not be your friend Tris. You are the sole reason that I made it home from Afghanistan. You are all I thought about. You kept me sane. Well, the girl from the airport who talked to me, like a normal person, who loved her job, and loved reading the Divergent trilogy. I read them all, you know, while I was overseas. I have to say the last one was awful."_

 _"You read them?"_

 _"Yes, because I wanted to feel closer to you, Tris. Peter, he doesn't deserve you. I have seen the bruises on your body. I have heard him yell at you, and heard how he talks to you. Please let me save." He asks as he looks at me imploringly._

I shake my head, coming back to reality. Standing in front of me is Drew not Four. My cheeks turn red as I replay my daydream about Four kissing me, my mind spinning some of the things that we talked about earlier in his truck, like about what books he read while overseas. "Tris, did you hear me? Peter is coming home earlier from his trip than intended, that is how pissed he is. I told him that your guy neighbor gave you a ride home from work as instructed to; if he ever did. He thinks that something happened between the two of you because of how late it was when you got home this morning, and he is angry, very angry."

A shiver runs down my spine as I take in Drew's words, wondering how bad Peter's reaction is going to be when he gets home, and how I am going to calm him down this time.

 **Thoughts on this chapter? Please review and let me know what you think. Next chapter will be up on the weekend of October 27. There will be a warning involved with that chapter, let's just say shit is about to hit the fan, and FourTris may be about to start in some way. I know everyone is anxiously awaiting that. :) Until Next Time!**


	14. Chapter 13 Better Off Dead?

***********Strong Warning For Violence. This chapter is rated M***********

 **Hey readers! Here is the next chapter! I hope you enjoy parts of this chapter especially the FourTris parts. :) I am actually nervous about the reception of this chapter due to the content of this chapter if any point of this chapter is too hard for anyone to read, just shoot me a message, and I will give you a general view of what happened to catch up on what happened. Thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter and to everyone read last chapter. Happy Reading!**

 **Chapter 13 Better Off Dead?**

"Damn you, Four! I should have never taken that ride from you today." I mutter to myself.

I liked my daydream much better than the reality of what Drew was telling me. A bang sounds against the wall. I glance out the window, to see Four's black truck sitting in the driveway. I'm already in trouble! Why not go check in on him? I need to make sure he is okay, for some reason. For reasons, I don't know, I feel a pull towards Four's side of the house, as I knock on his door, I take a deep breath, as I hear an angry "Go Away!" screamed.

As another loud bang can be heard with the sound of glass shattering. I feel a pang in my chest for some reason, knowing that Four is upset over Stacy. He shouldn't be. Stacy was awful towards him. He deserves better than her. He needs a friend, someone who he can talk to. I open the door, gently, even though another "Go Away!" is yelled. My eyes find Four sitting on the couch, throwing picture frames, and glasses against the wall. Hard enough that the glass breaks. "I said go away, Tris. I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to talk to you."

"Okay, then I will sit here with you while you break things. You need a friend. Clearly, you shouldn't be alone right now." I say as I sit next to him, wishing that he would talk to me about whatever was troubling him, I place my hand between us, hoping that he will take it, instead of picking up the picture frames that contain pictures of him and Stacy to break.

He is silent for a moment as he looks at a picture of Stacy and him. They look young in the photo, maybe teenagers. Four doesn't even look like himself in the photo, he has longer hair, and Stacy is on his back, both smiling at each other. I whisper to him, "It's okay to mad." He doesn't answer me, instead, he takes the picture out of the frame, rips it up, and smashes the frame against the wall, angrily, the hurt evident in his actions. I watch as the glass slides down the wall to the floor. I don't know what to say to him or how to bring him comfort. I move to stand, to give him time to grieve for the loss of his relationship, that picture showing me how long Stacy and him have been together. He grabs a hold of my hand, keeping me from standing, as he says, "How could I have been so stupid? I was with her for years, and I didn't really know her. She played me for a fool! She slept with people from my flight, people who I was in charge of. No one ever told me about it. I loved her with everything that I had, but I don't think, she ever really loved me. I gave her everything of myself. I have nothing left to give to anyone. She took my heart, and just stepped on it without a care in the world. I would have killed, moved heaven and earth for that woman, but Stacy, I don't think she would have done the same for me. Did you know that she was still cheating on me?" He asks, with tears in his eyes, as he throws another glass frame with a picture. The frame has a black and white photo of Four and Stacy. Him in his Air Force fatigues and her on his back. Both smiling at a camera, a happier time in their lives.

"It's okay if you did. I understand, why you didn't say anything. She probably told you not to tell me, or it was some sort of girl code thing."

"Four, I-"

"No, I don't want to hear, I'm sorry about a failed relationship. What I want, is a nice stiff drink. Now tell me where Stacy keeps the good stuff. I can't find it anywhere."

As I head into the kitchen to find the whiskey that Stacy kept in the cabinet hidden with a tumbler, I look back to Four who is staring at the floor, dejectedly. I wish I could make him feel better. I wish I could fix this for him, but only time can heal his heart. I come back out with the full bottle of whiskey and a glass tumbler. "Where's yours?" He asks when he notices only one glass.

"Oh, I'm not drinking."

"Yes, you are because I'm not drinking alone."

"Fine." I grab another tumbler, one of the only ones that he hasn't destroyed, and pour us both whiskey.

As he slams back his full seventh glass. He turns to me sayings "Why couldn't I have found you earlier in life and avoided Stacy all together?"

"You don't want me, Four. I'm damaged goods." I say, staring into his dark blue eyes.

"I don't think, you are damaged goods. You are beautiful. Definitely not damaged goods. " He says, softly, running his fingers gently, over my cheek, leaning closer to me. My breath hitches as his forehead touches mine, our eyes meet, I never noticed how blue his eyes were before, not until I was this up close to them. He says, "I have been dreaming about doing this since O'Hare, since the morning I woke up with you in my arms, and put my phone number in your book." He lips lightly brush mine. He tastes like whiskey, his lips are soft, and I am taken aback by the motion. I pull away from him, he continues to follow me until my back hits the back of his couch. His lips press into mine again, as his fingers slide into my hair. My fingers slide into his hair trying to pull him closer to me, not wanting the moment to end. My mind screaming that I'm not dreaming, this is real. I am actually kissing Four.

I break the kiss saying, "Four, we can't do this. You are drunk. You will regret this come morning."

"Am not and will not." He laughs, sadly.

"Prove it. Count backwards for me from 100. Prove that you aren't wasted right now." I say, slowly.

"100, 99, 98, 97, 95, 89,86, 83. . ."

"Okay. I think you have had enough of this." I say, taking the bottle away from him. The glasses, I place them on the table next to the couch. A pout mars his lips. At that moment, he looks cute as he rapidly flutters his eyelashes at me through his thick-rimmed glasses. I bite my bottom lip to try to keep from smiling, as he lays down on the couch, patting the space next to him as I look at him. "Four-" I whisper as he pulls me down next to him, his body curls around mine. I feel safe at that moment, but I know that moment of safety will pass as Peter will be home shortly. If Peter catches me over here with Four, I am in trouble, more trouble than I am already in. After Four falls asleep, I take his glasses off, place them on the table next to the couch, put a blanket over him, pick up some of the glass shards, write him a quick note; something about if he needs to talk I am next door, and then I leave his house, quietly.

When Peter comes home that night, he is angry and drunk, just like Drew warned. He yells, screams at me. He tells me that I am ungrateful, no good for nothing. He tells me he should throw me out on the street. He grips me by the arm roughly as I try to talk my way out of what happened with Eaton giving me a ride home as he tosses me down to the floor, he asks into my ear, "Did you accept a ride home from Eaton because you wanted to make me jealous? Was I not paying enough attention to you? Do you not like my nice side anymore? You like me being mean to you all the time? Is that it?"

"No, Peter, I'm sorry. It won't happen again." I cry as he takes a gun from his pants, holding it to my head, he says in a low voice "I should end your pathetic life. You and Caleb are just a waste of space, and a waste of my time."

"No, please Peter. I promise. I won't make you upset again." He shakes his head angrily as he says "You are too late with that apology. It is time for you to learn a lesson, for real this time." He puts the gun away, instead of walking away like normal after threatening me. Peter turns around and hits me in the face. It stings. He doesn't stop after the one hit. Peter hits me several times. He throws me around like a rag doll. I try not to show any emotion as he hits me over and over again, knowing that my emotion will only fuel his anger more. I try to dissociate from the situation, but the pain becomes too much as I am thrown to the floor, I lose consciousness.

I wake to dried blood coming from my nose. My eyes are puffy, black, and blue. I have marks all over my body in the shape of handprints. I think Peter broke my nose, and maybe a few ribs too. My eyes hurt, they are swollen almost shut. It hurts to breathe. I wish that I would die, or Peter had killed me.

"Help." I croak. No one comes to help me. Peter is long gone. I gather as much strength as I can as I yell "Help!" again, hoping that maybe Four will hear me.

I hear ruckus outside the front door. Four's body slams through the locked door. His face is violent with rage when he notices me on the floor. His eyes soften as he sees me, he quickly walks over to me, he gently lifts me, saying "Tris, what the hell happened? Who did this to you?"

I don't answer him. It hurts too much to breathe, little alone speak, as Four whispers gently, "You are safe. Let me bring you somewhere to get help, Tris, please. This needs to be reported."

"No, I can't report this. He will kill me." I say, tearfully, fearfully, terrified of Peter, and what will happen if I do report it.

"Tris, he needs to go to jail, no man should ever lay hands on a woman no matter what. If he beat you this badly this time, next time he may just kill you." Four says sternly.

"I can't, Four. Peter didn't mean it. He was upset about something that I did, and even if I do report him it will do no good. Peter is in the mob. He has connections. The mob will find me and kill me. I need to protect my brother, Caleb, from those mob connections. If I don't behave then Peter will kill my brother and make me watch. I don't have anywhere else to go or to live." I whisper as the tears flow out of my eyes, thinking about Caleb dying in front of my eyes, the fact that Peter already tried it once and failed.

"Live with me. I'm not going to leave you alone with this monster. We will figure out how to deal with Peter together."

"Live with you? I'm not going to live with you Four. I barely know you. You could be a serial killer for all I know." I say seriously.

Four smiles at me slightly as he says "I'm not a serial killer. If I'm a serial killer then your boyfriend is a saint."

"Ha. That's not funny or true. Take me to the hospital, and I will think about it if it will stop your talking. Help me up, will you?" I grumble before I can even finish my sentence Four has me in his arms, carrying me to his truck. He says "You are going to live with me because there is no way in hell I am letting you come back to live in this situation!" The panic evident in his voice as he gently places me in the seat of his truck, and I wince as the pain becomes even more noticeable in my ribs. He runs around the front of the truck, speeding to the hospital.

Once we get to the hospital, I get embarrassed in the ER having to face some of my co-workers, and I think about telling a lie. Something about falling down stairs, from tripping over my own two feet, but as soon as I start to speak, I can see Four's face harden, the disappointment beginning to etch on his brow. I take a deep breath and begin at the beginning. I tell the doctors, nursing, social services, and the police everything about Peter. All about his physical, verbal, and emotional abuse throughout the years. The police officer, who takes my statement, tell me that they will issue a warrant for Peter's arrest, and when he asks, if I have somewhere safe to stay until Peter is taken into custody. I say, "No." glancing at my feet ashamed, that I let Peter treat me the way he did for as long as he did. I feel ashamed that I wasn't strong enough to handle him on my own without help from outside sources.

"Yes, you do," Four says standing next to me. "We already decided. You can stay with me on base. I have already told you that." The cop looks at me, making sure that I am okay with that decision as I shake my head yes, wondering if I am crazy, going to go live with someone who I barely know to stay safe, wondering if Four is the right option. _Maybe I should go stay in a shelter and hope that Peter doesn't find me._

The x-ray results come back, and the doctors determine that I have four broken ribs thanks to Peter and a broken nose. The doctor prescribes me pain medication, then gives me a pamphlet on a clinic that deals with counseling for victims of domestic abuse, locally. I thank her as she discharges me from the hospital.

I feel drowsy from the pain medication as Four carries me out of the ER, his arms wrapped around me protectively, my head leans against his solid muscular chest, my eyes flutter closed, as he places me back into his truck.

 **What do you think? Please review. What do you think of Four and Tris's first kiss? Was it what you expected? Do you think Tris is crazy for going to stay with Four to have a safe place to stay? Anyways starting this chapter I contemplating changing the rating of this story from T to M, but I'm not sure. The rating is something that I always struggle with on fanfiction. Any suggestions would be helpful to me. Next chapter will be up the weekend of November 10. See you all then.**


	15. Chapter 14 Wonderwall

**Hey Readers! Here is the next chapter I hope everyone enjoys it. Thank you to everyone who continues to read and comment. I don't own Divergent. All military-related mistakes are mine because research only gets me so far. :) Happy Reading!**

 **Chapter 14 Wonderwall**

The next thing I know, gentle fingers are brushing my cheek. My eyes fly open, and I jump away from the contact of the hand. My eyes meet Four's concerned ones. "Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. But, do you have your ID with you? I need it to get us through the gate."

I glance around at the unknown surroundings, my breathing returning to normal. "Yeah. It's in my purse." I murmur, as I search through my purse for my ID, and hand it to him as quickly as I can. His fingers touch mine, and I pull my fingers away quickly, uncomfortable with his touch, only feeling Peter's hands on me. "Where are we?" I ask, staring out the window at the line of cars next to us and in front of us, impatient drivers tapping their fingers against their steering wheels.

"Travis Air Force Base. I told you, you were coming with me, to the base to stay with me, in my on-base housing. You will be safe here until Peter is caught by the Police and arrested."

"You sound so sure that Peter will be caught, and I will be safe here," I say, as a shiver runs up my spine.

"Peter won't be able to get you here. I'll make sure of it." Four says, his voice sounding strong and sure.

"Four, I can't stay with you here, hiding on a military base. I have no clothes. I have work. A job that I love. I barely even know you." I say, trying to get through to him about how crazy this idea is, that he came up with.

"Where else are you going to go, Tris? I'm not going to drop you off at a shelter, you can forget that." I don't answer him. He continues, "We went back to your place, and I packed a bag for you while you were sleeping." I blush at the thought of Four having seen my bras and panties. "Anyways, the doctor told you to take at least a few weeks off. You can barely breathe without being in pain. How are you suppose to care for critically ill patients?" He asks, quipping his eyebrow at me.

"Fine you win, but I still hardly know you!" I sigh as I look out the window, feeling trapped.

"You know a lot about me, more than the normal person does." He smirks, as we drive under a gray archway that reads Welcome To Travis Air Force Base: Gateway To The Air Force. Tobias sits in another line tapping his fingers on the wheel nervously. "This is the worse part to get into this base. Once, we are on the base, make sure you keep your ID on you, at all times if you go out for a walk, and I'm not with you. They do routine security checks due to different things happening in the world right now."

One of the soldiers at the gate looks thoroughly bored with his job when Four hands him my driver licenses and his military ID. He lazily looks at me, giving me a look of concern, then looks at my ID, then flips to Four's ID. His face drains of color, he stands straight, and salutes Four, saying while handing back our cards, "Captain Eaton, here you go, sir. I didn't recognize you in regular clothes. Have a good day."

Tobias returns the salute as he says, "Thank you. Have a good day as well Airman Jonas." He grabs the IDs, then rolls up his window, driving away.

"Is it always like that around here?"

"What way?" He asks, glancing at me from the corner of his eye questioningly.

"All the saluting, standing straight like being struck with a lightning rod, and calling you Captain Eaton? That guy looked like he was ready to cry when he saw you. And I'm not talking about tears of joy either." I say, as I attempt to suppress a giggle, that is threatening to rise in my throat.

"He may have been." Tobias smiles at me.

"Do I have to call you Captain Eaton too?" I ask, wondering if I can't call him Four in public anymore.

Four turns to me, coming close to me, as he says with a raised eyebrow, "If you call me Captain Eaton, Tris, I may just have to find out where you are ticklish." I feel my face fall, then turn red as I ask, "Are you flirting with me?"

"I don't flirt, and if I did, it wouldn't be with threatening to tickle you, if you called me Captain Eaton because that isn't a threat. That is a promise." He shoots me a panty-dropping smile.

I laugh lightly trying to ease the tension between us. The laughter causes my ribs to start to hurt, making me grimace from the pain. Four rolls his eyes at me as we pull up to a complex of five different houses that are all painted white with gray shutters. They look like condos to me from the outside. Four quietly says to me, "I always kept this place, because I never knew where Stacy and I stood. She and I were always breaking up. I can't believe I was thinking about giving this place up to move in with a cheater, full-time. I can't believe, I almost asked her to marry me. I had a ring brought and everything because I had been with her for so long that everyone was expecting us to get married. I should have known better. I should have seen the signs." I reach my hand over to him, wanting to comfort him, wanting to pull him out of his ugly thoughts. He takes my hand, intertwining our fingers without even realizing it. "Anyways, I have one pair of neighbors that I am close to, Stephen and Mark. They have a daughter, Mattie, who is adorable. I was stationed with Mark, on my last tour. I never did probably thank you for all those boxes you sent me. They meant a lot to me."

"It was nothing," I mumble.

"They meant everything to me." He whispers as he glances at me continuing, "Anyways, I'm sure you will meet Stephen and Mattie, at some point, during your time here. Mattie normally comes over to visit me. She has a crush on me. Her cheeks turn as red as her hair is, when she sees me, she talks a mile a minute, then runs back home because she isn't supposed to be coming over without Stephen. She makes me want to have one of my own. She made me put up a swing on the porch so that way I could swing with her."

"She sounds cute," I say, picturing a little girl swinging with Four.

"Oh, she is. Anyways, you ready to go check out your new home?"

"As ready as I will ever be," I say. There are five steps that lead to a front porch, with a swing attached to the ceiling, just like Four said there was. Four unlocks the door, pushing the door open, he motions for me to enter first. The first thing that I notice, is how plain the walls look. The walls are beige with rose beige carpeting, and beige colored curtains. The house is in some serious need of color. The furniture is sleek, modern, and comfortable looking. There is a black leather couch that could fit four to five people on it. Then a small table that is holding a large sixty-inch flat screen tv. Next to the couch is a love seat that is also leather, both the love seat and the couch form a ninety-degree angle in the room, around a small coffee table. On the coffee table, sits a book left open to a page. There are a few lamps sitting on end tables. The thing that strikes me about Four's house though, there aren't any pictures of people hanging up, no pictures of his loved one. The only picture hanging on the wall is a framed quotation from an unknown person. It reads: Fear God Alone. _Mmm, what a weird quote._ It is right by the door at eye level for him to see as he is walking out, it must mean something to him. "What does this mean to you?" I ask over my shoulder. I can feel him behind me, watching my every move as I take in his house.

"Nothing. It's just something that I try to live by. Listen, I need to go to the Commissary. There is no food in here. Do you want anything specific to eat?" He asks as his breath tickles my neck as he talks, my mind starts to spin, thinking about the kisses that we shared in his apartment. He still hasn't brought it up, and I'm not going to. _I wonder if he was too drunk to remember it._

"Huh?" I ask as I turn my head, our breaths mingling together, he is close enough that if either of us moved just a few more inches our lips would be touching. I should be uncomfortable with how close he is standing to me after everything I have been through today, but for some reason, I'm not with Four. I feel safe. I feel like he won't ever hurt me.

"Do you want anything specific for food?" He pulls away from me, putting a respectable distance between us, my head begins to clear again, now that I have some distance between us, as I ask "What's a commissary?" I have no idea what he is talking about.

"Sorry for you, it is like the grocery store, but there are other stores too. It is kind of like a huge mall."

"Oh, no. Whatever you want to get for food is good."

"You going to be okay here alone, or do you want to come with me?" He asks, looking at me like I am going to run away.

"No, I think I'll stay here," I say, smiling at him, as he shuts the door and locks it. I walk down the hall finding a very small kitchen with tiny white countertops and wooden cabinets. The floor is white plastic. In the kitchen, there is a sliding glass door. I peak out it, to find a very small backyard with a picnic table. I walk back up the hallway, to find a bedroom with a full-sized bed that is made with tight corners. There is a black and white comforter set on the bed. There is one nightstand with a lamp on it. Off of the bedroom, there is a bathroom, decorated in light gray.

In the bathroom, I see my reflection for the first time, I look like I was put into a boxing ring, and I look like I lost. My lip is split and swollen. I have black and blue marks everywhere that my shirt doesn't cover. I feel ugly. Peter made me ugly. Now I really am damaged goods. Tears rush to my eyes as I take in the fingerprints around my throat. He could have killed me. He held a gun to my head. Why didn't he do it? I crumple down to the floor, pulling my knees to my chest. I give myself two minutes to feel sorry for myself then I am done. After those two minutes, I decide I need to move on, and begin to rebuild my life, Peter free. Whatever that kind of life looks like.

I push myself off the floor, gathering my strength, and wander into Four's closet. On one side, there are regular clothing hanging with shoes sitting on the floor, and on the other side, it looks like a completely different person is associated with that living space. The top shelf has three pairs of boots and two different sets of sneakers. Under the shelf of shoes are a whole bunch of uniforms. He has ten different jackets, pants that are neatly placed on hangers, his shirts, that he wears under his uniforms. Then, he has exercise gear next to it all. He has three different pullover sweaters, long sleeve shirts, short sleeve shirts. Then, there are uniforms that I have no idea what they are for. _I didn't even know there were so many pieces to one uniform!_

At the very end by the wall, there are two dress bags that catch my eyes. My curiosity gets the better of me, and I look in them. Inside, I find Four's dress blues. The color of the uniform matches his eyes. I wonder what he looks like wearing one of these. There are two to three duffle bags laying on the ground that catch my attention, as I am placing his dress uniforms back onto the rack, I hear behind me "There you are. Did you find anything interesting?" My cheeks heat at being caught in his closet looking around. I didn't even hear him come back.

"Yeah, what are these for?" I ask, my fingers running along the cool fabric of a dark green jumpsuit.

"That is my flight duty uniform."

"How about this one?" I ask, pointing to a tan jumpsuit.

"Desert flight. For deployments."

"What about this one? Did you just like the leather jacket." I ask, smirking at him.

"It's another flight uniform."

"How about this?" I ask, pulling out a sage green fleece.

"Okay, Tris. I think, that is enough show and tell." I pout at him, as he says "Fine, but this is the last one. It's for cold weather.

"Wait, one more question, why do you have two sets of dress blues?" I ask my face heating, imagining him in them again.

"Both are for mess dress, but they are used for different occasions."

"Huh. Speak English for me."

"Sorry, mess dress is used for formal dress. It has a different coat and a tie mainly, that is what separates the two. That one," He points to the bag closest to the wall, " is my more formal one, the other one is for semi-formal. Now come with me." He grips my hand gently, pulling me out of the closet.

"Wait!" I say, seeing a guitar hiding in the corner of the closet. "Do you play?" I ask, motioning to the guitar.

He shrugs saying, "Kind of, I'm not really that good. It's more something for me to mess around on now. I was more serious about it in high school. Do you?"

I smile as I shake my head no. "Here sit on the bed, and I will show you." Four grabs his guitar, placing it on my lap, then sits behind me. His hands hover over my hips as he asks, "Is it okay for me to touch you to show you how to play?"

"Yeah," I answer as he places his hands on my hips, pulling me back into his chest, then places his hands over mine. "What song do you want to learn to play?" He asks. His breath on my neck making me shiver.

"I don't know. Pick an easy one."

"Do you have a favorite song?"

"No," I say.

"Everyone has a favorite song. What's yours, Tris?"

"Don't laugh."

"I won't. I promise."

"Wonderwall by Oasis." Four grins at me as he says "I always wondered what a Wonderwall was."

"Me too," I say, as he shows me which strings to touch first using his fingers. He plays the guitar well for someone who says it is just something that they mess around on. His fingers against mine are soft, unlike the rough hands of Peter. After several minutes, I turn towards him, loving the feel of his hands on mine, his breath tickling my neck, and wish he would kiss me again. I know he won't though. He hums as he teaches me the song, his humming bringing me a sense of peace. My guitar playing is awful. He places the guitar down next to us and stares at me. Dark blue eyes meeting light blue. He and I both lean forward until our foreheads touch. I feel that same electric zap like I did in the airport, our breaths mingle together. He gently moves my hair from my eyes, leaving his hand resting on neck lightly. My eyes want to close from the exhaustion of the day. He whispers, "We should eat dinner. It will be getting cold."

He slides from around me, grabs my hand, and leads me out of the bedroom. Once we reach the living room, he motions to the coffee table that has tacos on it. His book is now closed, that is when I see he is reading "Divergent." I start to comment but decide against the idea. I moan as I bite into the delicious shell of my taco instead, savoring the juicy flavors of the chicken. Four eyes me as he turns the tv on, then hands me the remote, telling me to choose something. I watch animal planet, watching these guys build crazy fish tanks out of weird things.

When night rolls around, Four tells me to take the bed, and he will take the couch. I fall into Four's bed feeling awkward. The bed smells like him, like metal, soap, and something distinctly Four. It makes me feel secure. My eyes close, and I try to sleep. I dream about Peter though. About Peter's hands around my throat, about his gun to my head, and how he hit me over and over until the pain became too much. I wake, screaming with sweat rolling off my body.

Four rushes into the room, "What's the matter?" He asks urgently as he sits on the side of the bed, his fingers brushing my hair. Tears flow from my eyes, unable to answer him. Four pulls me to him gently as he says, "Shh, you are safe. No one will hurt you here. I won't let them."

After my crying has stopped, he lays me back on the bed, using his thumb, he wipes away the remaining tears. He rubs my head gently, kisses my forehead, saying "Sleep Tris." He goes to get up, and I grab ahold of his hand saying with panic lacing my voice "Don't leave me, please!"

"Tris." He starts to say, but stops, when he sees the look in my eyes, and says "Fine, let me get my pillow and blanket from the couch. I'll take the floor."

He holds my hand from the floor saying "Sleep Tris, I will fight off the bad dreams."

"And how will you fight off my bad dreams?" I ask, starting to feel my eyes get heavy as he holds my hand.

"I will fight the bad dreams off with my bare hands," He says lightly, squeezing my fingers more tightly, as he continues to hold my hand until I fall asleep. I don't dream the rest of the night. An alarm blasts through the peaceful quiet. I groggily look at the alarm clock to see it reading four twenty in the morning. "You're kidding me, right?" I ask sarcastically.

"Wish I was, Princess," He says shooting up from off the floor, into the closet, then into the bathroom.

Not even ten minutes later, he is out in a white long sleeve shirt that is tucked into his blue running shorts that have one diagonal white strip on each leg. On the left short leg and the left chest, there is the Air Force symbol, and he is wearing white socks with red running sneakers. His fingers brush my cheek gently as he whispers into my ear "Tris, don't you want to come running with me and the rest of the guys?"

"Go to hell," I mutter into the pillow.

He laughs as he leaves the room. "I'll see you later."

I groan thinking, _what have I gotten myself into?_

 **What did you think? What do you think Tris has gotten herself into? Please review and let me know. Next chapter will be up on the weekend of November 24. It may be earlier that week, but I am making no promises. If I don't post earlier, I want to wish all my American readers a Happy Thanksgiving!**


	16. Chapter 15 Sparks Fly

**Thank you to everyone who continues to read and to everyone who continues to read this story, your support means the world to me. Here is the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy it. This chapter contains one of my favorite moments in the story. Actually, there are lots of favorite moments that I wrote, but this chapter has one of them, so I hope you all enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. As always, I don't own Divergent, and all military-related mistakes are mine. Happy Reading!**

 **Chapter 15 Sparks Fly**

The pain shooting through my ribs is the thing that wakes me up from my slumber. Four leaves the bathroom dressed in a different uniform; this one is sage green in color with a camouflage pattern, a tan colored shirt is tucked tight into his pants, and green combat boots. Sort of like the first time I saw him, but freshly showered. I glance at the clock, it now reading eight thirty in the morning. He catches my eyes with his, as he says, grinning at me, "Sleepyhead, you finally decided to join the world of the living. I was scared that you were going to sleep the day away."

A smile spreads across my lips for some reason at his playful banter, as I reply saying "Not all of us like to wake up at four in the morning to torture ourselves with exercise, Captain Eaton."

He grins at me, as he rolls his eyes playfully. "What did I say about the Captain Eaton name? Do you want me to find out where you are ticklish?" My cheeks heat at his comment as he continues, "You should come with me sometime to exercise. We could have fun together doing it. It wakes me up, and it is a great way to start your day."

"I'm not much of a distance runner," I say lying to him.

"Okay, whatever you say. I'll be back around five tonight. If you leave the house, here is my extra key and make sure you have your ID on you." He says, placing the key on the nightstand, next to the bed. He leaves the house. I watch tv, instead of leaving the house for fear that Peter will find me, even though Four told me that I would be safe here. When the front door opens at five, my heart is beating in my chest, hoping that it is Four. He smiles at me when he sees me sitting on the couch with the remote in my hand. I watch him from the corner of my eye instead of watching whatever it is on the tv. I return his smile. He looks tired as he kicks his boots off by the door, then picks them up saying, "I'll be right back. I'm going to go change out of my uniform. Then we can figure out dinner together."

I smile at him again, as he quickly leaves the living room, heading to the bedroom. He reappears a few minutes later in regular clothes as he asks, "What do you want for dinner?"

"I can make it. You worked all day." I smile at him.

"Nonsense. You need to heal, Tris." He smirks at me, as he heads to the kitchen, and I hear him rummaging around in the fridge. The differences between Four and Peter are striking. Peter would have expected dinner on the table as soon as he was home even if I couldn't breathe.

"How was your day at work?" I ask, as I watch him, begin a stir-fry.

He shrugs his shoulders as he says, "It was work."

"Okay. You wanna talk about it." I grin at him, as he smirks at me over his shoulder saying, "Not really. I would love to hear about your day though, and what you did."

"Watch tv." I leave out the part of where I jumped at every sound that I heard in the house, thinking it was Peter coming to get me.

"That's it?" He asks, not believing me.

"That's it. So tell me about your day? Did you do anything cool?"

He gives me general details about his day, not giving me much information, which I expect. He brings over two plates of stir-fry, handing one to me, and during dinner, we talk more about his day. He talks about flight plans and paperwork, and before I know it, dinner is done. He helps me put the dishes away after we clean them together.

He sleeps on the floor that night holding my hand, and I don't dream about Peter. Four and I begin to fall into a routine after two days of living together, and we begin to feel comfortable around one another. Every time that he accidentally touches me, he continues to apologize, but I begin to flinch less, knowing the Four would never hurt me because a part of me trusts him. After two weeks of living with Four, I think about leaving the house, but then my cell phone rings, with an unknown number, thinking it might be Caleb, I answer, "Hello."

"Beatrice, did you think you could escape me? I will find where you are hiding, and so help me, when I do. You will wish that you were dead. Did you forget that I could have Caleb killed with just one little word."

"No Peter, I didn't," I say as tears rolling down my cheeks, not caring that Peter threatened my life, but is threatening Caleb's life.

"You should have thought about that before you took off. Better say goodbye to your brother because I am tired of waiting for you to come home." He says laughing as he hangs up the phone.

I call Caleb's cell, and it goes straight to voicemail. I call again, at least a dozen times and finally leave him a frantic message to call me back, to stay away from Peter, no matter what Peter says about me and him. I am sitting on the couch in a ball, rocking back and forth, tears falling from my eyes, feeling like a failure when Four comes in the door. His face drops when he sees me, and he runs to me, fear etched all over his beautiful face as he says, "Tris, what happened?"

"Peter," is the only word that I can get out of my mouth before I break down crying again.

"But how? The whole base knows who he is and that he isn't allowed on it."

I shake my head no, as I say, "No, he called, and he threatened Caleb. He told me, I couldn't hide forever. That he would find me." I leave out the part of him threatening to kill me.

"I'll kill him," Four says darkly. "If he, ever lays another hand on you. That will be the end of him. I promise, Tris. No one is going to hurt you ever again."

"Four, he threatened my brother!" I say urgently.

"Where is your brother, Tris? Where does he live?"

"Caleb, he lives in Washington D.C. He works on computers for a living hacking them for the FBI, or that is the story that he tells me. Peter doesn't know anything about what he does or that he is involved with the FBI. He thinks he just works on computers for a living."

Four looks at me, raising an eyebrow, as he says "That is the other side of the country, you do realize that right? Wait, did you say he works for the FBI?"

"Yeah, but he isn't answering his phone. He always answers his phone when I call him, no matter what." I say sadly.

He stares into my eyes, gently touching my hair, as he says sincerely "Take it from someone who can't always answer their phone either, no matter how badly he wants to. Maybe he can't right now. Maybe he is in the middle of an important mission or something. I'm sure he really wants to answer his phone though. He might even be distracted by something, or maybe he just lost track of time. Did you leave him a message to call you back or did you just call him a million times, which is going to cause him to panic? Tris, did you tell him about Peter, that he has been abusing you? He could have helped you long before Peter beat you almost to death."

"Yeah, I left him a message, but I can't tell Caleb about Peter, and what he did to me this last time. I need to protect Caleb."

"Why, do you need to protect Caleb? He is a full grown man." Four says getting frustrated with me as he clenches his fists, anger can be felt radiating off him. Most likely over me not telling Caleb about my Peter problem.

"Because, Peter, he would kill Caleb. He almost did when we were younger, Peter tried to kill Caleb." I whisper, letting out the secret that I have been holding onto for years. "That is why Caleb left and moved to D.C. in the first place. That is why he never came around after he got a job."

"What do you mean? Almost killed him?" Four asks, his voice lowering.

I tell Four the basic details about Peter and his first attempt at having sex with me, and how I refused him. I tell him about how later that night, I went back to the house and told Caleb everything that happened on our "date." What I didn't know until months later was Caleb, went to Peter's room and tried to hurt Peter for touching me when I didn't want him to, how Caleb threatened him, and told Peter if he ever touched me again after I told him to stop, then he would have to deal with him. Peter, wanted Caleb out of the way because Peter wanted me all to himself.

"What, How?" Four asks flabbergasted.

"Caleb got really sick before he joined the FBI, and none of the doctors could figure out what it was, or what was wrong with him. When he went to the East Coast, one of the doctors there, drew his blood and found traces of rat poisoning in his blood. I was cleaning one day, and in Peter's desk, I found a box of rat poison in it. So trust me, when I say, that Peter will kill Caleb if I don't protect him because next time he will. Peter has connections all over the country."

"Then all you can do is wait for Caleb to call, and I know that sucks to be on the waiting end. But, until then, I have a surprise for you. Something to take your mind off everything. Wait in the truck, and I will meet you out there in a few minutes." Four says as he draws me to my feet, pushing me out the door with a slight smile on his face.

Four comes out a few minutes later with a duffle bag, his glasses on, and in regular clothes. He is dressed in jeans, a button-up short sleeve shirt, and converse sneakers. "Where are we going, Four?" I ask, raising an eyebrow at him.

"It's a surprise, remember." He laughs as he punches the truck's accelerator. "Your bruises are looking much better than they were a couple days ago. They aren't even that noticeable anymore." He touches my cheek. "Not to mention your eyes are this amazing shade of blue today. They remind me of the Polynesian Ocean." My cheeks heat as I turn away from him. "I could get lost staring in them all day long. Your skin is always so soft, especially after you cry but, I hate it when you cry. It makes me want to kill whoever hurt you." He says into the silence.

"Thanks. I guess. Have you been to the Polynesian Ocean? I have always wanted to go." I say, trying to change the subject away from me, and all his favorite things about me.

"No, but I have flown over it, and it is a beautiful shade of blue."

The truck stops on a field with grass, tarmacs, and a crap ton of fighter jets on it. "Where are we Four?" I ask nervously, thinking it must be somewhere that I am not allowed. "We are on the tarmac at Travis Air Force Base for me known as Travis Airfield, and you Tris Prior, are going to chase the sunset with me." He says smiling, winking at me.

"Aren't you going to get into trouble for that?" I ask "I don't think. . ."

"I could, but look around you. No one else is here. We are the only ones here. Plus, I need so many flying hours every week, and you are going to be my co-pilot. I don't have or need one on the type of plane that I fly, but right now, I want you to be mine."

"Are you crazy?" He smirks at me as he says, "Maybe," as he pulls out his duffle bag, pulling out his leather bomber jacket, and throws it on. Then takes his glasses off. "Hold on, you are flying this thing blind? No, I will not be dying with you, Four. I'm sure you are a great pilot and all, but I will not be flying with you blind."

He gently touches my lips with his fingers as he holds up his aviator sunglasses that he had grabbed from above his seat, as he says "These are prescription ones. You can wear my regular ones." He grabs my hand, pulling me towards a huge fighter jet, and I can feel the excited energy radiating from him. I feel like an ant standing next to this jet as Four does all his safety checks on it, he moves a ladder away from the jet, then he hops to the wing of the jet with the grace of a swan, and reaches down for my hand with his as he squats.

"Tris, give me your hand." He says.

"I don't want to get you into trouble," I say when suddenly my feet leave the ground.

He laughs as he sees my facial expression, sayings "Get into the cockpit, and don't touch anything or else!"

I jump from the wing to a single seat cockpit, and once in the cockpit, I look at all the controls. There are six digital screens, levers, and buttons, a sense of dread overcomes me. _How does he know how to fly this thing?_ A few seconds later, Four slides behind me. The space in the all-glass cockpit is tight as he closes it. He pulls me toward his body, I am nested between his legs. Then he clasps a seatbelt around us, drawing me even closer to him. His strong chest against my back, his breath tickling my neck. I feel hot all over as my eyes take in the view. The digital controls light up, and Four does his final checks, touches a few buttons inputting what looks to be a flight plan, then the jet rumbles to life beneath my feet. I glance backwards, he has all his concentration locked on the controls in front of him with a smile plastered on his face as he asks "You ready?"

Before I can respond, the jet starts to move, the tarmac, falls away from us. I squeal, as Four laughs saying, "You think this is high, baby? Wait until we get to regulation height. If you look over there you can see the ocean." My breath catches, _did he just call me baby?_ The sight is breathtaking. The ocean is sparkling as the sun is setting, the sky orange and purple as it meets the dark blue ocean.

"This is beautiful." I murmur.

"I know, it's my favorite time of day to fly." He whispers. "It makes me feel like I am the only person alive in the world."

"We are going to go regulation height?"

"No, I don't have oxygen for me or you." He whispers into my ear as he moves the jet slightly.

"Thank you for sharing this with me," I say, a huge smile on my face.

"You're welcome." He murmurs.

"How fast can this thing fly?"

"About 1500 miles per hour, but we aren't flying that fast without the right equipment on."

"Holy Crap! That is fast!"

"It is. You wanna try flying?"

"No, I might kill us both." I giggle.

"No, you won't. I told you already, I won't let anything happen to you. Put your hands where mine are." I place mine on the joystick with his. A few seconds later, Four releases his hands, leaving mine on the joystick alone. "Keep your eyes on the horizon." He whispers into my ear, sending shivers straight down my spine.

"I'm flying. I'm really flying." I giggle "I feel like I'm the queen of the world."

"You want to do something fun?" Four asks, and I can hear the mischief in his voice. "No, but this isn't that hard, to fly," I say, glancing over my shoulder. As soon as I let my eyes leave the horizon, the plane starts to nosedive, and I quickly realize my mistake. "I'm sorry," I mutter as Four grabs the joystick to right the jet. "Okay, my little co-pilot. I think that is enough time flying a multi-million dollar jet."

"Now let's have some fun!" He laughs then grins evilly at me.

"No Four, whatever you are thinking. . ." He pulls the joystick sharply causing the fighter jet to do barrel rolls. I scream the whole time, grasping onto his thighs for dear life. When he gently lands the plane back onto the solid ground in the same place, next to the ladder and releases me out of the cockpit. I scream as I run down the ladder, "You idiot! You could have killed us!"

He follows me down the ladder, a smile on his face. "No, I was in control the whole time. You, on the other hand, you were terrified, and I loved every second of it." He says laughing as he moves my hair away from my face. I lightly hit him in the arm as I say, "You still tried to kill me."

He shakes his head at me as he stares into my eyes, saying "No I wasn't Tris. I would never hurt you. It's beautiful up there isn't it?"

"Yeah," I say watching the sun go behind a tall building. "Thank you for taking me up there," I say, pointing to the sky.

"You're welcome, Tris." He says, hearing my own name come out of his mouth, sounds good. For some reason it makes me want to hear it again, but I don't get a chance to ask him to call me Tris again, because he begins to lean forward with a look in his eye that I haven't seen before. He moves my hair that is swirling in the wind out of my face. His fingertips move gently, caressing my cheek. His fingertips are warm and soft as they move against my temple. He bends more, almost daring me to tell him to back away. The truth is, I want him to kiss me again like he did that night on his couch. His fingertips continue to rest against my head. His touch sends shivers down my spine in a good way. My whole body is trembling with nerves, wondering what he is going to do next. "Can I kiss you? If you want me to stop, tell me now. Because once I start to kiss you, I don't think I'm going to be able to stop." He whispers, his voice soft, in a dreamlike state. His fingers move along my cheek, resting on my lips, pulling them apart. My breath hitches. When I don't answer him. He leans back giving me space, but I reach up, pull him down, drawing his lips to mine. Four stands there shocked for a moment as I kissed him, he gently returns the kiss, but gentleness isn't something that I want at the moment. I knot my fists into his shirt, pulling him against me. He groans softly, his groan is low in his throat as he relaxes into the kiss, his arms circle me resting on my lower back, pulling me against him, and at that moment, I wish that we didn't have so many clothes in the way or that we were out in public. As I sigh, Four's tongue slips into my mouth, and I eagerly accept it. Four's lips are as soft as I remember them, and everything about the kiss is perfect. When he pulls away, several seconds later, saying "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. It's just. You looked so beautiful standing there with the sun setting behind you, staring at me, the little bit of wind blowing your hair around, with my fighter jet behind you, that I couldn't help myself." I smile, not knowing what to say to this man as I say, considering I sort of initiated the kiss. "No Four, Don't apologize for the kiss. I liked it."

He smiles at me as he says, "Do me a favor, and don't call me Four anymore."

I grin and ask "Okay Four, what should I call you then? Should I call you Eaton or Captain Eaton?"

"Nothing for the moment. I'll let you know when I decide." He shyly smiles at me as I feel myself turn red, thinking about Four and how his lips felt against mine, and how right they felt against mine. More right then Peter's ever felt.

"Okay," I whisper as my eyes meet his, as he grabs my hand pulling me toward the truck. I secretly love the feeling of his hand in mine, but I'm not going to tell him that anytime soon.

 **Thoughts? Comments? Please review, and let me know what you thought. Next chapter will be up on the weekend of December 8th. See you all then. If you are looking for pictures to follow along with the story check out my Pinterest board, the link is on my profile. Can we make it to 100 reviews before the next chapter is posted? You all would make my day if that happened.**


	17. Chapter 16 Just Friends?

**Hey Readers, here is the next chapter. Thank you all for helping me reach 100 reviews so quickly with this story! I love reading everyone's reviews, they make my day! I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Thank you to everyone who continues to read and review this story your support means the world to me. I don't own Divergent, and all military-related mistakes are mine. Happy Reading!**

 **A few reviews that I couldn't respond to privately so bear with me: To TrisPriorLives: Happy Birthday!**

 **To Ren: Yes, Christina and Will, will be back eventually in this story.**

 **Chapter 16 Just Friends?**

Four and I don't talk about the kiss after he apologized for it, and in the back of my mind, I'm wondering why he apologized. I wanted him to kiss me, maybe I am a bad kisser like Peter always told me I was. Those are the thoughts that plague my mind as we leave the airfield. Four is quiet, almost reflective as he drives the truck back to the house. On the way back to the house, my cell rings; Caleb's smiling face appears on the screen. I answer it, smiling to myself, feeling better, knowing that Caleb is safe. I give him the rundown of everything that has been happening since the last time that I talked to him. I tell him that I left Peter. He sounds happy when I tell him that news. In my next breath, I tell him to be careful because now Peter is after him. Caleb promises he will. Our conversation leads to him telling me that he met a new girl, named Cara, who he likes, and asked out on a date, one day after work. As I hang up the phone, it dawns on me how much I miss Caleb, wish I could talk to him, and see him more. I smile to myself feeling much better that Peter can't reach him all the way in Washington D.C.

When Four leaves the next day for work in his flight duty uniform which consists of a dark green jumpsuit, a tan undershirt peeking out of the top. _I wonder what he wears underneath?_ On his left arm, the American flag, and on his right arm his unit patch. On the top of each shoulder, he has two bars. On his left chest, a pair of wings, that read Tobias Eaton, and his right chest a star with what looks to be a pair of wings coming up from it. It reads Air Force Major Command. He grins at me when I ask "What are these for?" as I point at the two bars

"Those signal my rank. That I'm a Captain. The wings that I'm a pilot." He winks at me as he points to his left chest. "What are you going to do today while I am gone?"

"I don't know. I think I might sit outside on the back porch, get some sun."

"That sounds like fun, Miss Prior. You should get some color besides when your cheeks turn red. I wish I could join you." He kisses me on the head, the affection feeling normal between us as he leaves the house. I sit outside for a while, quickly grow bored, and I decide to go for a walk. I grab a pair of shorts, a tank top, Four's house key, and leave. On my cell, I listen, finding some music that really makes my mind forget everything. I can simply just breath without thinking, and just walk, taking in the fresh air.

I glance around the new neighborhood, I see children playing outside, women planting things, and I see runners. As my legs continue to carry me, a group of ten to twenty men pass me, running in formation wearing what Four went out in the other day. Once I get to the main part of the base, it is then that I realize that I have no idea where I am on this base. I don't have Four's cell number, not that he would be able to answer it. He told me before he left this morning he would be in drills all day, and I feel completely and utterly lost. I don't even know the name of the road that Four lives on. All I know is that it starts with a B. I start panicking, spinning around in circles, trying to remember which way I came from. Suddenly, I hear behind me "Madam, we are going to need you to return to your residence. The base is currently on lockdown, and if you are a visitor then we are going to need to ask you to leave immediately."

I spin around to see two military policemen standing there speaking to me. "Can we please see your ID Ms."

"Prior," I answer.

"Ms. Prior." one of them says grinning at me as his eyes scan my body. I feel for my pockets, for my ID, but I don't feel anything. "Mhmm. I can't find my ID. I don't have it on me. I must have left it at home. You see I just moved in with. . ."

"Then Ms. Prior, we must ask you to leave the base until your identification can be verified and confirmed by the higher ranks." One of the military policemen say, cutting me off before I can tell them that I live with Four.

"No. No. No. I will not go with you." I say starting to panic. "I won't let you throw me to the wolves, waiting outside the gates of off this base. My ex-boyfriend is after me. I can't leave." My vision starts to blur, my heart begins to pound, my lungs, and my chest hurts.

"Ms. Prior, come with us." One of the officers say. He grabs my arms and starts pulling me towards him. I lose it. I scream at the top of my lungs "Get your hands off me! Let me go! I live with. . ." but before I can finish my sentence I hear behind me "Tris?"

The two military policemen stand straight like a rod of lighting has gone down each of their spines, and they salute saying, "Captain Eaton, sir, good morning."

There stands Four in his sage green camouflage pants and jacket. For the first time, I notice that his uniform almost looks like digitalized tiger strips and the thought brings a smile to my lips. This uniform looks different. Four's two silver bars are pinned to his jacket collar. Four angrily shakes his head, narrowing his eyes at both the men. "Take your hands off her. That is the first order of business. The next order of business Airmen, is telling me what the hell you two are doing? Do you think it is right to be touching a lady after she tells you to let her go?"

They remain silent, looking down at the ground, like kids that are getting ready to be scowled, like they know that they are in the wrong.

"Answer me, and look at me in the eye." He says sternly, looking thoroughly pissed off.

Both their heads snap up as they look Four in the eye, saying "Sir, no, but. . ."

"I don't want to hear it. Now, what the hell were you two doing trying to manhandle, my girlfriend?" He asks, narrowing his eyes. My breath catches, _there is that word, girlfriend_. Does he really want me as his girlfriend, or is this just for show?

"Sir, the base is on lockdown per the colonel's orders. The lady didn't have an ID on her, and we were escorting her off the base as our rules state when we are in a lockdown."

Four shakes his head, saying, "I believe the lady was just getting ready to inform you she lived with me, but you were too busy treating her like a criminal. Now get out of my sight before I do something that I really regret."

Four turns to me with narrowed eyes as the two men leave quickly. "Do you realize you could have ended up in jail for resisting, or at the gates waiting for me tonight to pick you up if I hadn't just come along. Where's your ID, Tris? I told you to carry it everywhere on base when you weren't with me."

I can see his eyes soften, and I playfully say, "Should I salute you too, Captain Eaton?" I point to his right chest that has the word EATON on it. On his left chest has U.S. Air Force, above that is his insignia or badge that has wings on it to designate that he is a pilot.

He grins at me as he says "You better start running because once I catch you. You are done for. I'm going to tickle you for that statement." His fingers start to move toward me. I take off in a direction as Four calls out, "Tris, home isn't that way. It's this way. I live on Broadway street."

I make a wide circle as he chases after me all the way home. When I finally make it to the driveway of the house, panting out of breath, my ribs aching from the exercise. Four grabs me gently by the wrist, spinning me around toward him. He stares into my eyes, as whispers "I'd really like to kiss you right now, Tris."

"I think, I'd like that," I say quietly, right before his lips meet mine. My hands slide underneath his jacket, feeling his hard, toned muscles, as his fingers skate down my sides coming to rest on my lower back, drawing me closer to him. I pull away before he has a chance to progress the kiss further and say, "Four, we can't do this. Peter will hurt you, and I can't let that happen. You are one of the only friends that I have."

He rolls his eyes at me. "I'm pretty sure, we are well past the point of being friends, Tris."

"We are just friends."

"No, we aren't. I don't make it a habit of kissing my friends on the lips, bringing them up in a fighter jet, or even letting them live with me. So tell me, do you kiss your friends like this?" He asks his eyes boring into mine as he brings his lips close to mine again, brushing them against mine quickly, softly.

I blush as I think about his lips and the tingles that they bring to my body every single time that he has kissed me, sober or drunk. I don't answer, instead, I say, "No, I don't make it a habit of kissing my friends. I guess I won't be kissing you anymore."

He pulls me up to the porch swing, puts his arm around me, a shiver goes through me from the close contact. "Are you cold?" He asks as he takes off his jacket, placing it over my shoulders. His nose brushes against my ear making me shiver again as we watch the sun setting. "Will you be my girlfriend?" He whispers into my ear.

My breath catches as I turn to look at him. "Did you just ask me to be your girlfriend?"

He smiles, and it is a rare smile, one that touches his eyes as he says, "Yes, Tris Prior, I did."

"I can't." He narrows his eyes at me as he asks "Well, why the hell not?"

"Because Four, I don't even know your whole name. I'm assuming it isn't Four unless your parents were crazy or something." He smirks at me like I am missing something.

Four grimaces at the mention of his parents, then his face turns serious as he says "My name is Tobias Aaron Eaton, but you should already know that from seeing me in my flight uniform. I'm twenty-seven years old. I got the nickname Four because I was the fourth youngest person ever in the history of the Air Force to earn the promotion of Captain by the age of twenty-five. I joined the Air Force right out of college at the age of twenty-three. After I graduated from Stanford with my Master's degree in mechanical engineering. So is that enough about me right now? You are the only person that I have ever taken up in a fighter jet, the only person that I have ever chased after, and you are the only person that I ever want to kiss sober or drunk ever again."

I blush at the memories of our drunken kisses that we shared together when he brings up the topic. "Yes, I remember that night, even if it has the haze of whiskey surrounding it. I remember kissing you, and I remember falling asleep with you in my arms. I don't remember what I said, to you, but I remember kissing you. It was something that I had waited and wanted to do. It felt like a lifetime to actually get to kiss you. I was in Afghanistan dreaming about kissing you, wondering why, when I was with someone else, and I think it was because I was suppose to end up with you." He whispers. "So will you be my girlfriend?"

I place my finger on my chin, pretending to think about it. "Yes!" I say after a beat.

His eyes light up as he takes in my answer, he picks me up, spinning me around, laughing. Our moment is broken when a gray truck pulls into the driveway and a young man with dark brown hair jumps out. "Four, is this the reason you won't ever come out with me anymore?" He stares at me with his hazel accusing eyes and a frown on his face that then breaks into a smile. "The name's Zeke. She's pretty, Four. Definitely an upgrade from Stacy. I wouldn't be leaving my house more than I needed to, either."

I feel my face heat under his gaze, I reach out my hand, as I say "I'm Tris, and I'm pretty sure that I could take you if you tried anything, so don't."

I feel defensive about being called pretty by a guy who I don't know. It brings back memories of when Peter's friends use to call me pretty then later got drunk, try to feel me up as I would fight them off, and Peter would do nothing to help me. Four notices my uncomfortableness. He places his hands on my shoulders and says "Zeke, means no harm. Trust me if he did, I would kick his ass." He grins at Zeke as Zeke grins at him, and says "You think you can take me, Eaton? I can outrun you in PT, and we both know it."

Four shakes his head, laughing as he says "I let you win the last time we had timed PT, and I beat you every single time that we raced in high school."

Zeke grins saying "You let me win the other day? Break my heart, Four. I guess, next time you'll have to actually try because if you lose. I get to bring your girl, here on a date."

Four tenses behind me, "I don't think so. Plus, I don't think Shauna would like that." He says through clenched teeth.

Zeke laughs saying "What's the matter? Scared if Tris, here, finds out how much fun I am to be around she'll leave you all alone, and come to hang out with me instead of you." He grins the last part as Four rolls his eyes at Zeke saying "Let's get this over with so you will shut up. Tomorrow morning. Five in the morning, at the flagpole. Why are you even here?"

"The Lieutenant Colonel is looking for you. Actually us. Apparently, some orders have come down from command, and we are needed on the airfield in about twenty minutes."

My heart picks up speed at the news, _this has to mean something bad, right?_

"Bye Tris, I'll see you tomorrow for our date," Zeke says, winking at me.

"Better not hold your breath," Four says grinning at him. Four turns to me, he runs his fingers through my hair as he stares down at me "Say, you'll wait for me."

"What?" I ask confused. "Tris, I have to leave on a mission tonight, and I should only be gone for a week at most, but say you will wait for me. Say you don't want to break up, please." He says, his eyes imploring me, not to leave him.

"Of course, I'll wait for you. But, how do you know that this is a mission?"

"There were rumors about one this morning, but I didn't think it would be so soon." He whispers as he stares into my eyes willing me to understand what he isn't saying, that there is potential for him to be going into danger, that he wants me to wait for him, something that Stacy never did for him. He kisses me lightly, then heads into the house, returning a few seconds later in that green jumpsuit, and his blue flight cap on, I think, I am starting to hate that uniform already. As he is backing out of the driveway, I jump off the porch, run toward the truck, yelling "Four! Wait!"

He slams on his brakes as I jump up, latching onto the window of the truck. "What's the matter, baby?" He asks when he notices the tears starting to spill. I'm breathless from my short sprint to the truck.

"Please be safe." He runs his knuckles along my cheek, catching my tears as he says "I always am. Come here." As I go up on my tip toes, he leans over, his eyes intensely looking into mine. His lips meeting mine in a kiss, his lips pressing against mine, as his hand touches the back of my neck, our tongues meet in a fiery kiss. When he pulls away, he says, whispering, "Now, I really don't want to leave. But, duty calls. I'll miss you, princess." He winks as he drives away, leaving me standing there breathless from our kiss, crying again, feeling like half of my heart just left with him.

I call Christina before I even realize what I am doing. "Tris, what's wrong? What happened? So help me if Peter did something else to you." She says when she hears me crying over the phone.

"Chris, I left Peter. He beat me badly this time. He broke my ribs and my nose. My next door neighbor, Four, found me, and I have been staying with him on an Air Force base. But, he just left on a mission, and I have been sitting here crying for the past two hours, staring at the door, willing him to come back safely. I think I am starting to develop feelings for him. The idea scares me to death. He asked me to be his girlfriend tonight. How do you deal with this when Will leaves?" I ask as all my feelings continue to pour out to her.

"Hold up! Start over from the very beginning," Chris says, and so I do. I tell her everything. I tell her about meeting Four in the airport, about how he rented the apartment next to Peter and me with his girlfriend Stacy, how I didn't recognize him. How he told me to call him Eaton, how Stacy cheated on him, and how they broke up. How Peter beat me, how I left Peter, and how Four gave me a place to stay, and everything in between that has been happening with us.

"Hold up! You said, Tobias Eaton. As in Captain Tobias Eaton of the United States Air Force?" She asks.

"Yeah? Why?"

"Tris, the man is like a legend for all of his accomplishments in the military. Even Will knows about him, and he is in a different branch."

"How and why do you know all this? Never mind, I don't think I want to know, he did tell me he was one of the youngest in the history of the Air Force to be promoted to Captain."

"Oh Tris, you live with the man, and you have never googled him?"

"No!"

"Well, you should!" She says like the thought is the best thing in the world. "As far as how to deal when he goes away, I could lie and say it gets easier, but it doesn't. All you can do is keep yourself busy. Maybe get yourself a hobby."

"Chris, I'm scared. I think I'm starting to fall in love with him, and I don't want to get hurt again." I sigh into the phone.

"Listen to your heart. Does it tell you that Four is going to hurt you?"

"No, but after everything, Peter did to me."

"I'm going to stop you right there. Peter is and was an ass. Don't judge that poor man against Peter." She says, "You know all I have ever wanted was for you to find a good guy. From everything that I have read and you have just told me about Four, he is one of the good guys, Tris."

"Maybe," I whisper into the phone, wanting to believe that Four would never hurt me.

Chris and I talk for a little bit longer about her adventures with Will then she hangs up. I surf the internet to try to take my mind off of Four getting hurt on his mission, then I decide to do it. I google Four.

 **What do you think Tris will find on her Google search of Four? What did you think of this chapter? Please review! Next chapter of the story will be updated on December 22.**


	18. Chapter 17 Google A Girl's Best Friend

**Hello readers! Here is the next chapter in the story. I hope you all enjoy it and have a great Christmas and New Years. I will see you all in 2019 with an update! I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Thank you to everyone who continues to read, support, and review this story. You all are truly the best! Once again, I don't own Divergent and all military-related mistakes are mine. Happy Reading!**

 **Jojoboo90- I couldn't respond privately to you, but thank you so much for your support! I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter.**

 **Chapter 17: Google A Girl's Best Friend**

As soon as I enter Four, Tobias Eaton, Air Force, into google. My heart begins to beat quickly as I hit the search button on the computer, wondering what I am going to find about Four. _I hope it isn't anything bad._ When the screen loads, there are two pages of results. The first page is mainly articles of his career in the military so far. On the second page, there are some articles written from his time in high school with his achievements, and with mentions of him. I scroll back to the first page and click on the first link to read an article dated from just over a year ago when he was the recipient of a medal.

This article is clearly written about Four. It says that he was commissioned from officer training school as a first lieutenant instead of a second lieutenant like normal, due to all the hard work that he displayed during training. He was top of his commissioning class as well, and because of the excellence that he displayed, he was chosen to attend pilot training school to learn to fly an F-22. In the article, it mentions that Tobias upon graduation from pilot school was promoted to captain. The article says that the last time a person was made Captain as young as Four was during World War I, and that Tobias Eaton, is the fourth youngest person ever in the history of the Air Force to earn this rank at such a young age. The article then goes on to mention that he was the recipient of the silver star last year. Following the article, I open a link which lists all the freaking awards and ribbons that he has been awarded and received ever in his career in the military like, the Air Medal, the Air Force Cross Medal, the Distinguished Flying Cross Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Medal, Marksmanship Ribbon, Air Force Training Ribbon, National Defense Ribbon, Honor Graduate Ribbon, Air Force Expeditionary Service Ribbon, and most recently the silver star medal. It makes my head spin, looking up all these medals, the criteria to be awarded them, and then to see all of the awards that he received for his heroic acts of bravery. I wonder if he will tell me why he was awarded each of these if I asked. My eyes float to the bags containing his dress uniforms, sitting in the closet. I take a deep breathe as I walk over to the closet, and unzip the bag, looking at all the medals. My head continues to spin, wondering what kind of hell he endured during his years of duty as a pilot, that earned him these types of awards especially now that I know the criteria behind each of them.

My mind begins to question why someone like Four would possibly want to be with someone so ordinary like me when I have nothing to give him in return. My mind echoing Peter's words: of being good for nothing, as I curl into a ball on the couch, crying as I think that Four will soon come to his senses and kick me out, then I will have nowhere to live. Then I will have to go back to Peter, his abusive ways, or find a way to get to Caleb in Washington D.C.

Headlights come into the living room, signaling that a car is in the driveway, and I hear the ignition die as heavy boots come up the porch steps. A fumbling handle sends me flying into the kitchen searching for a knife to protect myself, thinking that Peter has finally found me, that he is here to kill me like he promised to do or drag me back to live with him. The door opens with a shadow standing there as I scream "Don't move!"

The shadow, a tall male figure holds his hands up as he says, "It's just me."

When the light is flipped on, light floods the living room revealing Four standing there in the doorway, as I stand in the middle of the living room with a knife in hand ready to attack, not believing it is really him. He walks over to me and plucks the knife from my shaking hands, my eyes begin to tear again. "A butter knife? Really, what were you going to do with that? Butter me to death? The least you could have done is grabbed a steak knife. I would have grabbed the gun though, if it were me here alone, afraid." He winks at me, jokingly.

"There is a gun here?" I ask, not believing him.

"Of course, above the bed." He says, shrugging his shoulders like it is the simplest thing in the world. "It's above the headboard, on the shelf."

I shake my head, "Nice of you to tell me."

"You never asked." He pulls me to him, kissing my forehead, "You are safe, Tris." He whispers into my hair as he catches the tear that manages to escape my eyes, as he hugs me as I breathe in his scent, I whisper, "I'm so glad you are home safe." He touches my chin, drawing my eyes to meet his as he whispers, "I told you, I would come home safe to you, and I don't intend to break that promise ever for as long as I live." His lips gently meet mine in a quick kiss, the kiss is too quick in my opinion as he pulls away, pulling me into the bedroom to show me where the gun is hiding.

The next morning, Four wakes me at the crack of dawn to be his lucky charm, and to watch him compete against Zeke. I get dressed in a pair of running shorts, and a tank top, as I am putting on my sneakers, Tobias leaves the bathroom in a pair of black shorts, a light blue tank top, with sneakers on. "No Air Force stuff today?" I ask.

He raises an eyebrow at me and says "Nope. That's for PT only. This is just me putting Zeke in his place. Don't worry baby, I won't let him win."

"I'm sure you will win, Four," I say teasing him "Because I don't want to have to go out with Zeke."

"Don't call me Four, anymore. Call me, Tobias. Please."

"Okay, Tobias," I say, testing his name on my tongue, liking, the way it sounds when it comes from my lips. He smiles as he hears his name leave my lips. He holds out his hand. I take it, loving the way his hand feels in mine as we walk to the flagpole, but I'm not going to tell him anytime soon how much I love his hand in mine. We get there early, and he begins to stretch after ten minutes, Tobias begins to grumble about Zeke being late like always. "There he is," I say, pointing down the road to a slow-moving Zeke, who looks like he just woke up.

"You look awful awake this morning," Zeke says, poking fun at Tobias as he groans rubbing his eyes.

"Yeah, I'm ready to kick your butt, and Tris is going to join us." I turn sharply toward Tobias, raising my eyebrow at him, and ask, "I am?"

They both have evil grins on their faces, as they both say in unison, "Yes, I like that idea. Besides you are already dressed."

"I hate you both." I sigh as they both yell, "Let's go, Tris. Loser has to make breakfast."

Tobias and Zeke run too fast for me to keep up with, especially in my condition, and I quickly fall behind. Seconds later, I see both of them fall to the ground, start doing push-ups, and then take off, running again. I run at a nice steady pace, enjoying the sunrise when I hear, "You lose Zeke!" being yelled down the block.

I smile knowing that Tobias won the race or whatever they were doing, but groan knowing that I have to make both of them breakfast. Zeke's pouting with his hands across his chest, looking distraught. "Let's go poor sport. I'll buy you and Tris breakfast. We'll meet you at the usual spot that way we can all change from these sweaty clothes." Tobias says, a grin appearing on his face as he sees me finally reach the area that they are standing at. "I know you said that you weren't a distance runner, but you do realize you just ran two miles in less than ten minutes right?"

"Perhaps, but I'm still not going to come running with you or do your crazy PT stuff with you. I'm not much of a push-up, pull-up, or sit-up girl" I say, smiling at him.

"That's okay. I'll do enough of all that for the both of us." He grins at me, his smile reaching his eyes.

"I'll think about it," I say, a smile lighting up my face as my eyes catch his.

At breakfast, Zeke talks about the mission last night, which I find out was resupplying an airline with fuel that was running low mid-flight. Zeke asks me about everything under the sun about myself, wanting to learn everything there is to know about the new lady in Four's life, or so he says. I turn the conversation back to him. He talks about how his wife, Shauna. He complains about how she is making him do a color run this weekend and asks Four and I if we want to join them. I look at Tobias who just shrugs his shoulders not having an opinion.

"Sure," I say as I think of a question to ask Zeke, "So Zeke, are you a captain like Tobias and a pilot too?"

"I'm a pilot, but I'm not a captain. We can't all be military prodigies like Four here. I'm a first lieutenant."

Tobias smirks at him saying, "Yup, so he has to salute me when we are in uniform."

I glance at Zeke who rolls his eyes. "Yeah, the jerk. I know he enjoys calling me out when I don't salute him too. Even though we have known each other since we were what, 16?"

Tobias winks at me as he says laughing, "It serves him right for starting all those rumors about me, my junior year in high school, about how I was gay. Also saying that Stacy was a cover story."

Zeke looks at me then asks "You want to vouch for him? Or do you want to really tell me the truth, and tell me, he is gay. I know he is. He has never kissed a woman in public, and I have a bet going with my brother, Uriah, he's in the military too."

I giggle thinking about Tobias's lips on mine last night before he left, and the tingles that his lips bring to my body as I say, "I can neither confirm nor deny that fact."

"You wound me," Tobias says grinning at me as he eyes my lips with a small smile playing on his lips as his eyes snap to mine.

I whisper into his ear, feeling a burst of courage, "Maybe you should show Zeke how un-gay you are."

He whispers back, "Maybe I will, with your help."

"What are you two going on about over there?"

"Nothing." We both say at the same time as Tobias grabs my hand, pulling me into his side, he leans down until our foreheads touch. His eyes are sincere, silently asking permission to kiss me in front of Zeke. A silent conversation passes between us, between our eyes as his eyes move, bouncing between my lips and my eyes. His head bends slightly more, his lips slightly brush mine. I can tell he has every intention of giving me a small kiss, but after the emotions of last night, of thinking Peter was coming to kill me, of thinking I was never going to see him again, my body overreacts. I want everything that Tobias is willing to give me in that kiss. I slide closer to him in our seat, throw my arms around his neck not caring that we are out in public, and pull him closer to me as he attempts to pull away, breaking the kiss. I don't let him lose contact with me as my fingers slide up the back of his neck into his hair. Tobias's fingers run through my hair stopping to rest on the back of my neck as he presses his lips against mine again this time, increasing the pressure on my lips.

"Okay, I get it. I lost my bet with Uriah. I owe him the ten dollars. Enough! Enough!" Zeke groans, covering his eyes, grinning at the both of us, as he tosses a straw wrapper at Tobias's head.

I hide my head in Tobias's shirt realizing at that moment that we have an audience. I had forgotten while his lips were on mine all about Zeke. "Wait, Uriah? Is he in the Air Force too?" I ask, suddenly remembering a crazy boy from the club that danced with me to make his wife jealous.

"No. Uriah isn't smart enough to get into the Air Force," Zeke says laughing. "My idiot brother is in the Army. He is stationed at Fort Hamilton in New York. His wife Marlene, is there with him, the poor girl. I don't know how she deals with him."

I smile saying, "I think, I know him, or at least, I met him once."

I tell Tobias and Zeke about my first encounter with a boy named Uriah, who I met when I was visiting Will and Christina at Fort Hamilton. Zeke can't keep a straight face as he hears my story, grinning saying, how that sounds just like his brother and Marlene. As we leave the diner, Tobias holds my hand, and on the way back to the house, we talk, getting to know each other better. He groans when I express my interest in wanting to do the color run on the way home.

"But, why?" He groans at me, rolling his eyes as he looks at me from the corner of his eye.

"Because it will be fun to do together, and I have never done one before. I have always wanted to do one before." I say, a slight smile on my lips.

"Okay, it's a date." He smirks at me.

"A date?" I ask, giggling, "Yes a date. You and me, alone together, off base. What could go wrong? He laughs as he pulls me to him, kissing me lightly on the lips in front of the house.

 **Next update will be on the weekend of January 5, 2019. I will see you all then. Until then, please review and let me know what you thought of this chapter. What do you think will happen when Tris and Tobias go to the color run? Do you think anything bad is going to happen especially since Tobias made the comment about what could go wrong with them leaving base?**


	19. Chapter 18 The Awakening

**Thank you to everyone who took the time to read and comment on the last chapter. Here is the next one. I hope you all enjoy it. I don't own Divergent and all military-related mistakes are mine. Happy Reading!**

 **To Jane S- I'm glad you are enjoying the story, and that you chose mine when you were looking for another one to read. I worked hard researching the military stuff.**

 **Chapter 18: The Awakening**

My phone rings, interrupting my reading. Leaving me, sitting on the couch, staring at a wall, imagining an intense scene between the two main characters, Stella and Damon, but instead of it being them, it is Tobias and me. I move to pick up my phone, my heartbeat picks up speed, thinking it might be Peter for a short second, but then I see Caleb's face fill the screen.

"Hey," I answer, a smile on my face.

"Hey, baby sister." He says, and I can hear how happy he is in that moment.

"Any reason that you are calling?" I ask, suspiciously.

"Can't a brother, just call to check up on his sister?"

"I guess."

"I'm so happy that you are finally away from Peter. You have no idea how much stress that takes off of me." He whispers. "I was worried for your safety."

"Me too. What are you up to? Shouldn't you be at work?" I ask, looking at the clock, as I hear him reply, "I'm on my lunch break." Caleb and I spend his whole lunch break, talking like old times. Our conversation drifts from old memories of when our parents were alive, to when we were younger, to him telling me about his date with Cara. I giggle when I hear his voice turn light and lovey as he mentions Cara. I ask, "Are you in love, Caleb?"

"No. It is too early in our relationship to be in love. I barely even know the girl."

"Speaking of which, you never told me much about Cara. How did you guys meet? You told me that you asked her out after work, one day. Does she work with you at the FBI?

"Sort of, she works as a photographer, and we met one day when she left her camera bag on my desk by accident." He mumbles through the phone at me.

"What does that mean, sort of a photographer? Caleb, no one leaves their bag on a desk by accident. Unless they are trying to drop a hint."

"I can't tell you if she is a photographer or not. It's a secret."

"Fine, you keep your secrets." I grin, even though he can't see me. I am happy that he is happy. "So what did you do on your date? Where did you go?" I ask as Caleb tells me about his first date with Cara, I encourage him to ask her out again.

Our conversation turns to Four and me. Caleb seems happy for me, but he seems leery of our situation. He warns me to be careful, not wanting to see me hurt again or in another bad living situation. I brush off his big brother comments as I hang up the phone, knowing in my heart, that Tobias would never hurt me as Peter once did.

When Tobias comes home that night, he pulls me to him. He fingers intertwining with mine. He kisses my forehead lovingly. He has a look in his eye that I wish that I could read. "Is everything okay?" I ask, wanting, needing, to know that he is okay, to be okay myself. He doesn't look it, by the look on his face. He pulls me to the couch as he asks, "Can I take you somewhere tonight?"

"Sure, like on a date?" I ask, trying to lighten the mood. "Wait, are you asking me out on another date? The guy who says he doesn't flirt?"

"I don't flirt, and If you want to call where I am taking you to, a date. Then, I guess you get to go out twice with me in one week." He grins at me. His smile trying to cover something that he is hiding.

"Okay. Whatever you say, Tobias." I whisper, rolling my eyes at him.

He smirks at me as he moves from the couch, moving into the bedroom to change from his uniform into regular clothes. I'm still sitting in the same place where he left me when he returns. My mind, having gotten the better of me, since he left to change, taking me to a dark place. He places his hand out into the air as if to be a life preserver, pulling me from the recesses of my mind. I stare at his hand, wondering if I should take it. The words slip out of my mouth before I can even stop them, "Are you tired of me? Are you taking me back to Peter because I am good for nothing?"

As soon as I hear my words fall flat in the air between Tobias and me, my eyes drop to the floor. I can hear the lie. Tobias looks horrified as he hears my words. His face morphs from happy to angry as he replies, "Are you serious, right now? I will never, for as long as I live, allow Peter to ever, lay another hand on you. What do I need to do to make you see that you are a good person? That you aren't good for nothing?"

"I know that. I know, I am a good person, and that I am not good for nothing."

"You may know that, but do you believe it? Because I believe it, Tris, with all of my heart. It is why you were worried about your brother when you couldn't get a hold of him, and even though, I have never seen you in action as a nurse, I am sure you are a great nurse as well. You care about your patients. It is why you wanted to get back to the hospital so quickly, even though you have barely begun to heal yourself. Now, I never want to hear you ever say that you aren't a good person, or good for nothing again. I especially, don't want you to mention Peter again."

"Okay," I whisper, trying to see myself through Tobias's eyes as I take his hand, wondering where we are going as he drags me out the door to his truck. He is silent as he starts his truck. He drives the truck through base, slowly.

"Where are we going?" I ask, again.

"When I came home from my mission yesterday, and you nearly butter knifed me to death, I couldn't get the look of your face out of my head all day, of how scared you looked. I never want you to be that scared ever again. When you are home alone, I want you to know you are safe. I need you to know how to defend yourself in a world that seems to get worse by the day. I am going to teach you how to shoot, but you need to promise me something."

"Huh."

"That you won't shoot me by accident when I walk through the door at night." He smirks at me.

"I would never shoot you." I grin at him, as we pull up to a concrete building in the middle of nowhere. Tobias intertwines his fingers with mine. As we walk into the building, the sound of gunfire can be heard bouncing off the walls as soon as he opens the door. He leads me to a stall with the gun. Before giving me my muffs, to go over my ears, he gives me a questioning look, asking me if I am comfortable doing this. I shake my head, yes. He places the gun on the table. His long fingers point at the different parts of the gun. He shows me how to work the safety, how to load and unload the bullets from the chamber. Then he shows me how to stand as he presses his finger against the trigger, pointing the gun at the paper in the distance, the bullet flies out of the barrel of the gun into the paper. "You wanna try?" He asks as he hands me the gun.

The metal of the gun is cool in my hand and it is heavier than I thought it would be. I try to stand the exact way that Tobias stood with my knees apart. I look through the pointer, as he told me to, and look at the white paper in the distance. My mind imagining, it is Peter standing there smugly. I press the trigger, letting the bullet fly out of the barrel, missing the paper, completely. The buck of the gun nearly sends me onto the floor. Tobias catches me in his arms "fuck," I mumble as I feel a slight adrenal rush go through my system.

"You okay?" Tobias asks.

"I wanna try again," I say immediately, loving the rush.

"Okay," Tobias says as he helps me, positioning me on the matt. When his hand touches my stomach, I feel an electrical current, go through me. I take a deep, sharp, intake of breath. Tobias smiles, sheepishly at me as he says, "Sorry," quickly.

"No, you didn't do anything wrong," I whisper. Tobias lets me attempt to shoot the gun two more times, but the buck of the gun is too much. He catches me each and every time. Each time, Tobias resets me. I feel the electrical current running between him and me. He smiles at me with a carefree smile, one that I wish I could bottle for a rainy day. When Tobias sees me getting frustrated after five missed attempts at shooting the gun, he catches me. This time, he fixes me, but he doesn't move out from behind me. He whispers into my ear, his hand resting on my stomach, his breath tickling my neck. My mind going to places it shouldn't be going at that moment with a gun in my hand. "Take a deep breath, put your finger on the trigger, and on your exhale, pull the trigger." I do as he instructs me to do, and this time. I hit the target in the chest. "Kill shot." He whispers. Pride in his voice. "Try again." His voice, soft.

I send another four bullets through the same hole, imagining Peter standing before me taunting me. This time, the gun doesn't move me at all. "Great job. I'm proud of you." Tobias whispers, as he gently takes the gun from my fingertips. He locks the safety, then touches my chin, lifting it, my eyes meet his eyes as he leans to kiss me. The smell of metal, gunpowder, and the sound of gunfire disappears as Tobias takes over my world for a few moments.

The next day is the five-kilometer color run we are doing with Zeke and his wife, Shauna. When Tobias drives us off base, I realize, it is my first time I have left base since I came to live with Tobias. Zeke and Tobias are wearing similar expressions when at registration they are handed white t-shirts with neon green sunglasses. Zeke groans as he says "Shauna, you better love me for doing this."

"Of course Zekey Bear. You are helping to make the world a happier and healthier place." She smiles as she puts on her hot pink sunglasses.

Tobias rolls his eyes behind his neon green sunglasses as he says "Zekey Bear, huh? I like that one!"

Zeke groans, "Tris, what's a nickname that Four has?"

"He doesn't have any."

"You two are lame." I hear a voice behind me, a shiver goes down my spine at the sound of the male voice. "You look good, Tris. Haven't seen you in a while. I'm sure Peter will be will be most interested in knowing that you are here."

"Drew, leave Tris alone." A girl says, who is standing in front of me. "Peter said, he would deal with her on his own. You promised me today was our day. No work today. Hi Tris." A brown haired girl with a shoulder length wavy bob waves at me who has blue eyes. I recognize her immediately as Molly, Drew's girlfriend.

A feeling of dread takes hold of my stomach. I feel like the earth is falling out from beneath my feet. I turn to see a red-headed, blue-eyed Drew standing there looking at me with an evil smirk playing on his lips. _Shit! Peter is going to know where the hell I am!_ Slowly, I hear, "Tris, Tris, Tris. Are you okay?" Tobias asks as he pulls me to the starting line.

The color race is a blast, I forget all about Drew and Molly behind us. Every kilometer, Tobias and I are doused in a different color. As much as Tobias groaned about not wanting to participate, he has a smile on his face in this untimed race, and he is laughing much of the way, taunting Zeke and me, trying to make us keep up with him. By the time, Tobias and I cross the finish line, we are covered head to toe in different colors. When we do cross the finish line, I jump onto Tobias's back with excitement, pulling his chin back towards me, and kiss him quickly. His soft lips keep my mind off Molly, Peter, and Drew. But, all too soon, my mind is reeling again about what Drew said before the race started.

At the end of the race, there is a huge party with more color throws, vendors, dancing, and photos. Shauna and I pull Tobias and Zeke into the middle of more color throws, where we are all doused with even more colors. Tobias and I take a photo together to commemorate our fun day. Tobias grins at me as he says, "There is no way, we are getting into the truck like this?"

"And how are we getting home?" I ask, wondering what he is planning. This man always seems to be up to something. "You wanna skinny dip?" He asks sarcastically.

"No." I giggle as he pulls me outside of the vendors and the music, there is a dock that leads into the ocean. Tobias grins at me then he grins at Zeke, then grabs my hand as Zeke grabs Shauna's hand. "No!" I squeal as Tobias takes off running with me, as he yells, "Yes!" pulling me along with him. He jumps off the dock into the ice cold ocean water with me. When I resurface I look around for Tobias, but he is nowhere to be seen above the water.

"Tobias!" I yell "Tobias!" I yell again, starting to panic, having flashbacks to a similar moment of when Sam pretended to drown when we were in high school in the school swimming pool, trying to get me to jump into the pool with him, one day, after his swim practice that I had been watching. I feel hands wrap around my waist as someone grabs a hold of me, and Tobias surfaces next to me. "You scared me!" I say, panicking. He laughs, a grin playing on his lips. "I'm fine, nothing's going to keep me away from you."

"You idiot!" I push him back under the water as he pulls me under with him, he comes back up, grinning at me. He grabs my shoulders, pulling me closer to him, my hands go around his neck caressing it, and I didn't want him to pull away from me. His eyes stare at my lips, then stare into mine. His lips meet mine as his tongue runs along my bottom lip. I breathe heavily as our tongues graze each other as we lose ourselves in the kiss, the hot friction between us, almost becoming unbearable even with the cold ocean water surrounding us. His fingers move lightly down my sides, hooking onto my legs, moving them to rest on his hips as he deepens the kiss. As we kiss, I realize that I am in love with him, and the idea hits me like a brick building, making me terrified. I can't love him. It is too soon. _I can't love him yet, right?_ He will end up hurt or worse, dead. When we end the kiss from lack of oxygen, our foreheads resting on one another, our breaths mixing together, our eyes staring into one another, his eyes staring at me with gentle concern. His eyes promising me things that I never thought I would ever want in this life with anyone. I don't know how to feel at that moment.

"Tris, I-" He starts to say, but his sentence is interrupted with "Hey lovebirds!" Zeke shouts "We're going home." I wave as Tobias motions over his shoulder to leave us alone. I swim away from him, back to the dock, breaking the moment between us. I need time to process the fact that I like him more than I should in the short amount of time that I have known him for. _I don't normally fall this fast for someone._

My head is spinning as I try to work through my thoughts as we walk back to the truck. He holds my hand, rubbing the back of my knuckles with his thumb. I notice a person sitting on the hood of his truck, and I feel like hiding behind him when I see who it is. "Peter." Tobias hisses, "We should call the cops on you!"

"Eaton, you done kidnapping my girlfriend, yet?"

"She isn't your anything. I'm pretty sure your relationship ended the moment you beat her." Tobias says deadly to Peter.

"She is mine! Not yours, Eaton!" Peter sneers at both Tobias and me as he eyes us both with malice. I shiver, feeling exposed to him.

"Really, I thought the fact that Tris hasn't been at home with you for weeks, would be a big indicator to you that your relationship is over, Peter," Tobias says sternly.

"Tris, baby. I miss you. I love you. Come home with me. I'm sorry about what I did. I lost control for one little moment. It won't happen again, I promise." Peter says sadly, batting his eyes at me, trying to make me feel bad, sorry for him, to try to take him back.

Tobias squeezes my hand reassuringly as I look Peter in the eye, and say "Peter, even if you were the last man on the planet, I wouldn't go back to you. Why would I go back to a man, who beat me, tried to assault me? Do you think I am crazy? I deserve better than that!"

Peter throws his bottle of beer on the ground as he says "Fine Beatrice, you had your chance to come back willingly with me. Now, I will take you by force."

"Get off my truck." Tobias yells "You aren't taking her anywhere. You will need to go through me first." Tobias's stance changing to one of intimidation as he stares at Peter, through narrowed eyes. I notice Tobias's other fist is clenched shut, ready for a fight as Peter walks away, and as Peter does walk away, he says, "I'll see you and your brother around, Tris."

Tobias is radiating anger as he punches his accelerator driving back to base, and my thoughts are going in every which direction. "Who the hell does he think he is?" He grumbles to himself.

"It's fine," I say as I reach over to touch his arm, and he shoots me an angry look.

"Tris, he threatened you. We need to report him to the police so that way he can be arrested. The cops said after you were beaten nearly to death they were going to issue a warrant for his arrest. Why hasn't that son of a bitch been arrested?"

I laugh. Tobias looks at me like I have lost my mind. "Tobias, he owns the police. He is part of the mob. Haven't I told you that before? His grandfather is the head of the mob, his grandfather doesn't get caught because he is also the chief of police. Why do you think Peter, is out walking around after he beat me? Did you think mommy and daddy bailed him out?"

"I don't know. I expected the damn cops to do their jobs, not be dirty. I guess," Tobias says, running his fingers through his hair with frustration. "Fine, we can't trust the police to deal with him. Then what are we going to do? I'm not going to leave you out as bait."

"We aren't going to do anything. We are going to live our lives as if Peter doesn't exist." I whisper, knowing that that is exactly what is going to happen, hopefully, because Peter always wins in everything. He always has since he was a kid, that is why he drove away my one other male friend, Sam, in college because he was jealous of our friendship. I smile, thinking about Sam's letter turning up in my mailbox one day, and how we have been writing letters back and forth secretly ever since without Peter's knowledge.

He smiles at me as he says "You are beautiful, but Peter does exist in this world, Tris. We need to do something, even if it is only a little something."

"I'm a mess, I'm not beautiful, clearly you need your vision to be checked. I look like a drowned rat." I say, giggling, ignoring the part about Peter being alive in this world.

"Nope. I've got twenty-twenty corrected vision, the last time it was checked. Today was a perfect day. There is only one thing that I would have changed about it." He says, glancing at me from his aviators.

"What's that?"

"That all the powder paint got washed out of your hair. I thought you looked badass with pink and blue hair."

I shake my head, laughing at his silliness, turning up the radio talking about the wildfires raging in Southern California, wondering if Tobias and I are really going to be able to live in a world Peter free.

 **Please review and let me know what you thought. Do you think Peter is going to try something especially now that he threatened Tris? Next update will be up on the weekend on January 19.**


	20. Chapter 19 Maybe I'm Amazed

******************Warning this chapter is rated M**********************

 **Here is the next chapter in this story. I must say that I am kind of nervous about this chapter, that is probably why I am posting this on Sunday instead of Saturday like normal. I hope you all like it. Thank you to everyone who took the time to review the last chapter and to everyone who continues to read this story. I don't own Divergent, all military-related mistakes are mine as always. The only thing that I own is the plot of this story. ;) Happy Reading!**

 **Chapter 19 Maybe I'm Amazed**

Tobias leaves early the next morning for work before the sun rises, and he doesn't return until it goes down that night. This becomes his routine for the next few days. Caleb and I talk daily, while he is on his lunch break. He seems happy with his new girlfriend, Cara. I continue to try to press him for information, but he doesn't budge, much to my dismay. Since seeing Peter again, his threat of seeing me around is ever constant in my head. I wake up screaming even with Tobias on the ground next to me, holding my hand. I dream of Peter every night, of that last day where he beat me, of him holding a gun to my head. "Tris, wake up!" Tobias says urgently, shaking me awake, just as Peter's foot crushes my airway. I bolt awake, sweat pouring off me.

"I can't keep functioning like this on two hours of sleep. I'm going to crash a plane if I don't get more sleep." He says, rubbing his eyes as he gets off the floor, grabbing his pillow and blankets. I glance at the clock, reading two in the morning. I know that he needs to be up in two more hours for work.

"Wait, Tobias! Don't leave me please!" I say, tears forming in my eyes.

"I need sleep. You keep screaming and talking in your sleep. I can't sleep like this. I haven't even gone to bed yet because all you are doing is tossing, turning, and screaming, no, up there."

"Come sleep in the bed with me. Come hold me, please. Your arms are the only ones that I know can and will keep me safe from Peter." He gives me a questioning look, almost like he doesn't believe me. "If I make any noise, you can go sleep on the couch. Please, just don't leave me."

"Fine." He groans, climbing into bed. He hesitantly wraps his arms around me, pulling me close to him as if he is going to protect me from my nightmares, my back to his front. The sensation of him behind me is strange but comforting, as he presses me tightly against his chest, I feel at peace for the first time since seeing Peter again, and I fall into a deep restful sleep for the rest of the night.

Tobias and I continue to fall into a routine. Every night, I pull the covers back on the bed, and I ask him to join me, to sleep for the night as he gives me a questioning look, like I might regret my choice come morning. Each night, Tobias pulls me tightly to his chest as I drift off into a peaceful sleep knowing that Peter isn't going to touch me. Tobias would never allow it, and every morning, when I wake up, I wake, having no dreams of Peter in my memory from the night before.

When Tobias leaves early one morning, I call the hospital, and talk to Tori, who tells me to take a few more weeks off, to continue to heal, and that when I feel one hundred percent better to call her and let her know. I try to tell her that I am better, but she will not hear of it. She recommends that I see a therapist before I restart work due to everything that I have been through, and that my job will be there waiting for me. I hang up the phone feeling defeated. That night, Tobias comes home with a dozen red roses. He gently kisses me on the forehead as he pulls away he says, "These are for you, my beautiful, girlfriend?"

"Why?" I ask, suddenly suspicious.

"I'm trying to butter you up. Is it working?" He asks, winking at me.

"Depends on, what it is you are buttering me up for?"

"Will you go to the military ball with me? It's in two weeks, and I have never been to one before. Stacy never wanted to go with me." He asks shyly, his hands in his pockets, as he looks at the ground. At that moment, he looks like a shy young man, not a confident captain in the military, like I think of him as all the time. I contemplate messing with him, but I can't bear to hold my answer from him any longer. "Oh, my goodness of course. I would love to be your date." His face lights up with a smile as he picks me up, and swings me around, saying "Thank you, baby. You are the best. Do you have plans tonight?"

"None that I can think of."

"Good. I want you to meet me out back in ten minutes." When I go to the backyard, I find the picnic table set with a blue checkered blanket. Tobias comes out in a black t-shirt with jeans and his converse sneakers on. I hope you are hungry because we are making kebabs tonight for dinner. Then, we are going on a date." He sets the supplies down on the table, and I help him skewer the meat and the veggies. As he lights the grill, cooking dinner, I read my book, stretching out in the evening sunlight. When dinner is done, Tobias sets the kebabs in front of me as I ask, "Tell me about some of the ways that you earned your medals."

"How do you know about those?" He asks, staring at me in shock.

"I googled you," I say, smiling at him, my smile turning into a grin as I continue, "Christina told me that I should."

"I don't really want to talk about that, Tris." His voice drops an octave as his eyes refuse to meet mine.

"Oh," I whisper, the smile drops off my lips, he must see it from the corner of his eye as he says "Don't feel bad. I don't talk about it with anyone, actually."

"Okay, tell me about your parents," I ask, trying a slightly safer subject, hopefully.

"My parents. Why don't you tell me about yours." He grins at me as he deflects the question back to me.

"I have told you, my parents were killed when Caleb and I were sixteen years old, and then we became homeless. We stole food to survive. Caleb stole money as well. Right after my parents died, I tried to kill myself. I didn't want to live in a world that my parents didn't live in anymore. Caleb found me bleeding out on the bathroom floor in our old home, and took me to the hospital. I did a small stint in rehab, but now I am better. My parents were the kindest people that you would have ever meet in this life. They would have given you the shirts off their backs if they didn't have anything else to give you. Their names were Natalie and Andrew, and they were great people. They would have loved you and would have hated Peter. Now fess up about your parents."

Tobias grimaces, "I didn't know my mom. I killed her."

"What?" I ask in shock, wondering if I am hearing him correctly.

"She died giving birth to me according to my father, Marcus. She got a clot in her lungs that the doctors didn't catch in time. Marcus, he took his anger out on me after her death. When I was four or five that is when the beatings started. First, when I was small he would beat me with his fists. Then as I got older, he moved from only using his fists to using both his fists and his belt on me. The man is nothing, but a drunk. He isn't my father, only the man whose DNA helped to father me. The night I got my acceptance letter to Stanford, he broke my nose. The night I graduated from high school as a gift, he broke two of my ribs. Tell me, Tris, does that sound like a father to you?"

"No," I say quietly.

"When picking out colleges, I wanted to move as far away as I could from him. So I did. I chose the furthest school away, that I got accepted into. I always told myself I would never be like him. I never wanted to grow up and be him, that would be a nightmare come true for me. That thought has pushed me in every aspect of my life, even to this day."

"Is that why you have that quote hanging on your wall?" I ask, thinking of his fear god alone quote that hangs on the wall by the door, as some of the mystery of Tobias Eaton is clarified to me, finally.

"Perhaps." He smirks at me, as the tears manage to escape my eyes, my heart breaks for the young man who had to endure his father's mistreatment as I whisper, "Oh my god, Tobias. I am sorry."

"Hey, don't cry for me. I don't want those tears. I made it out alive. I'm okay. I promise. As sick as it sounds that situation made me into the person that I am today." He says smiling, as he rubs my tears away with his thumb.

"Where are you from originally?"

"Maine." He grimaces.

"Then how come you have a southern California accent and not a Maine one?" I grin at him.

"Southern California was my home for years, Tris. More years than Maine ever was in my heart. I didn't even realize that I have an accent."

"Well you do, but only sometimes when you let it slip. I find it adorable."

"Thanks. I think. Now enough about that waste of space, I call a father, and my early life. Let's go on our date." He leads me out to the truck where he drives us out to the airfield again. I put my hands up, frustration lacing my voice when I see planes in the headlights of the truck, I say "I'm not going up in another plane with you. Once was enough for me. Not to mention, I'm not suicidal. It's pitch black out here. How would you even be able to fly."

Tobias laughs "No, we're not going up, but it's nice to know that you have such confidence in my flying skills. I can fly in the dark, though." He opens the backdoor of the truck, begins pulling out blankets, pillows, and placing them into the bed of the pickup. "Stargazing Miss Prior with a little alcohol included." He says smiling down at me as he holds up a small cooler.

Tobias smiles at me as I hop up into the bed of the truck to join him. He grabs my hand, pulls me down into the bed of the truck, and together, we laugh as we fall into the truck bed together a mess of limbs. He smirks at me as I rest my head on his chest, as he kisses my head, and I sigh, feeling content for the first time in my life just being. Tobias and I talk as we try to find different stars and constellations in the sky. I glance up at Tobias and at that moment, I feel like I want to tell him that I like him, but I'm scared to death. _What if he doesn't feel the same way? What if he rejects me?_

His hands subconsciously play with my hair as I look up at him again, wondering what is going through his beautiful mind at that moment. _I wish I could read it._ His eyes close as we talk, his fingers continue to run through my hair. The feeling overwhelmingly peaceful. His eyelashes are long up close, my mind frees itself of every ugly thought that I have had these past several weeks when my eyes connect with his as he opens his eyes again. I slightly smile as he catches me staring at him, as my hands cup my head resting on his chest, enjoying the close contact with him, listening to him breathe, both of us silent at that moment. "Thank you for tonight," I whisper, pulling my eyes away from staring at him, breaking the still night air, not looking at him as I speak, watching the stars instead of the gorgeous man laying next to me.

"You're welcome." He whispers as he kisses my forehead again. We don't talk about anything. We enjoy the comfortable silence passing between us. He continues to stare at me, our eyes catching one another's as he smiles at me, shyly.

I smile "What? Do I have something on my face?" I ask when I catch him staring at me again.

"I have something that I want to tell you, but I'm scared."

"Scared of what, Tobias?" I ask.

"I'm scared of failing." He says nervously to me, and I jokingly say "Baby, you've got wings. How can you be scared?" I giggle at what we just said, take a deep breath as I process that Tobias is attempting to flirt with me, the guy who said he didn't flirt.

"Because I have been hurt before, and I don't want to be hurt again." He whispers as he catches my eyes. I can see the truth behind his statement. I want to tell him that if given the chance, I would never hurt him. Instead, I say feeling a little courage from the alcohol buzzing through my system, "I like you, Tobias. I have for a while, but I wasn't sure how to or when to tell you."He smiles at me for a beat then his face drops dramatically. My heartbeat quickens, and I feel like crying from the vulnerability that I am feeling in the moment. I have never felt this vulnerable in my life before, ever "You can't like me, Tris!"

"Why?"

"I'm a mess. You are a mess." He says as he runs his fingers through his hair.

"Stop! Stop thinking. What is inside here?" I whisper, feeling hurt, my eyes not meeting his as he continues, his fingers touch my chin as he says, " No, Tris. You see that is the problem. I'm thinking too much about what is best for you and me. I am struggling with what is right, and what is the wrong thing to do. The wrong choice is so appealing to me especially when it comes to you. I think before we take this relationship any further, we both need to figure out our own shit. But, I'm willing to say that I like you too."

"You like me too?' I ask, confused at what he just said. My head spinning in a million different directions.

"Yes, I like you." He whispers as his eyes meet mine. His fingers run through my hair. I lean into his touch, soaking in the softness of it, as he tips my head towards him, brushing his lips against mine softly. Once, twice, three times.

"Tobias, I. . ." I whisper against his lips.

"Shh." He says, a tight smile on his lips, as I swallow hard as he covers my mouth with his slightly callused fingers. He tugs me back down to kiss him, his lips close around my bottom lip as his fingers, his hands, skim along my jawline, then run along my sides, sending shivers along my spine as his affection pours into me through this kiss. Suddenly he shifts his weight, his arms encircle me, my fingers tighten into his shirt as he pulls me into his arms, and he rolls us. He gently caresses my neck with one hand, lightly tickling me as his other hand moves downward, his fingertips move under my shirt. My fingers, shakily, move underneath his t-shirt. I take a deep breath, breathing in his scent, he overwhelms every sense of mine as my nerves calm as my fingers stretch feeling his taut smooth abdominal muscles. I try to pull his shift off, but can't. He helps me pull his shirt off, and he throws it into the darkness beside the truck. My fingers move up his naked chest, and grab a hold of his dog tag, tugging him closer to me. He bends his face to my neck as he traces a path with his nose, then with his lips as he kisses along first my jaw then my neck. Erratic breaths escape my lips as he starts to unbutton my shirt. My nerves return with each button that he touches and undoes. With every button, that he open, revealing a piece of skin to him, he places an open-mouthed kiss on my goosebumped skin. When I pull my shirt out from under me and off my arms, leaving me exposed to him, in only my jeans, and a pale pink bra, he whispers in awe, "You are so beautiful. You are not damaged goods, by any means, Tris. Not in my eyes at least."

His lips move back to my lips as I hungrily kiss him, tugging on his bottom lip with mine as my fingers move down to his belt buckle. His eyes have lust in them as he pulls away, asking "Are you sure Tris? Cause we don't have to. That's not why I brought you out here. That's not why I started this."

"Shut up, Tobias. I want you. I want this." I moan as his touch drives me wild, crazy with lust for him. I tug him back to me by his necklace. He groans, not arguing any further with me, burying his face into my neck as he turns to kiss me again, my nails digging into his shoulders from the sensations overwhelming me as his lips find mine once again. Our hips grind against each other's, and we lose ourselves in each other for the very first time.

 **-The O'Hare Affair-**

Tobias's pounding heart is the only thing that I can hear in the quiet night, and I count the beats of it, waiting for it to slow down. He lazily runs his fingers along my naked back under the blankets as I grin up at him, and he nonchalantly smiles back me, then kisses my hair. My eyes float to the sky, a shooting star moves through the darkened night sky. I make a wish. The dark, quiet night air is broken by headlights. "Shit!" I try to grab my clothes, to cover myself.

"Just stay quiet. They won't even know we're here." He kisses my forehead as the car stops, and we hear "Four! I know you're here. I know that is your truck, and none of the planes are missing."

Tobias holds his fingers to my lips, trying to silence my giggles that are threatening to erupt. "Four! Four! Four! Captain Eaton!" Is screamed into the void. Tobias rolls his eyes, he rolls me off him gently, tucking the blanket around me as he sits up, saying, "Yes, gentlemen." It is then, I notice Tobias is naked, shirtless, surely these men will know what happened between us.

"Sir, your house was broken into tonight, and the woman who lives with you, she can't be found anywhere." A man's voice says nervously.

Tobias grabs his pants from beside him, wiggles into them, forgoing his boxer briefs, pushing the material into his front pocket. He jumps off the back of the truck, then grabs his shirt off the ground, and says "My girlfriend is with me. What do you mean, my house was broken into?" He asks, his voice rising.

"Sir, it is best if you come with us, and we can show you."

"Give me a minute." Tobias comes back, looking at me with a sincere look as he says "We need to go, baby, stargazing is over for tonight."

"Tobias make them turn around or something. I can't get dressed with them standing there," I whisper

He smirks at me, raising an eyebrow while saying "Gentlemen, Miss Prior and I will be along shortly."

"Captain Eaton, we can't leave you. Not until you come with us. It is the Major's orders."

I hear his voice grow irritated as he gruffly says "Turn around now, gentlemen!"

"Why?"

"Don't question me! That is an order!" He says, irritation lacing his voice.

"Oh!" One of the guys says then the other adds, "We got it now. Good for you, Captain Eaton, if we may be so bold to say."

"No, you may not," Tobias grumbles at them. I roll my eyes at the whole situation as I feel my cheeks heat. Tobias notices my eye roll as he smirks at me.

Tobias motions for me to get dressed quickly, handing me my shirt from the ground. Then he lifts me out of the back of the truck, his lips soft against mine as he kisses me quickly while the two men have their backs turned away from us. I blush when they turn around, the two men shoot me knowing looks. Tobias shakes his head, shooting them both dirty looks as I stare down at the ground, not making eye contact with either of them as he whispers, "That color pink is adorable on you, you know?" My cheeks heat even more, as I climb into the truck, not answering him. Tobias holds my hand, kissing my knuckles on the way home as he follows the security force vehicle to his house.

When we get home, the front door is broken open with the screen door hanging half off the hinges, clothing is thrown everywhere, all over the house and the furniture is overturned. The house has been ransacked. This doesn't even look like Tobias's house anymore. Normally, his house is neat, clean, and not a thing out of place.

"Is anything missing, Sir?" One of the men asks, looking at Tobias.

"I'll have to clean up in order to tell," Tobias says calmly.

"Okay, Sir." When they leave, I feel dread sink into my stomach again, knowing that someone has been in here when I see all of my clothing thrown, everywhere, that someone touched all of my things.

"Tobias!" I yell, my eyes on the bathroom mirror. He runs, following my voice, into the bathroom where I am standing, shaking like a leaf with tears in my eyes. Written on the glass in blood is **Told You I Would Find You, Tris. You Are Mine.** The next thing that I know my world turns black.

 **Thoughts! Can't wait to hear them as a lot happened this chapter! Please review and let me know.** **Tris and Tobias finally acknowledged that they like each other, progress right?** **Who do you think broke into the apartment? Who is excited about a military ball? Next chapter will be up on the weekend of February 2, until next time. Stay tuned for the next chapter.**


	21. Chapter 20 Anywhere But Here

**Here is the next chapter in the story. I hope you all enjoy it. Thank you to everyone who continues to read this, you all mean the world to mean. I don't own Divergent and any military-related mistakes are mine. Happy Reading!**

 **Chapter 20 Anywhere But Here**

"Tris, please wake up." I hear a male voice that I recognize, but I also hear another voice, one that I don't recognize say, "Squeeze my fingers, if you can hear my voice." I come to as a bright penlight blinds my eyes. "He found me, Tobias!" I whisper as I blink rapidly. Tobias glares at the mirror as he continues to hold my head in his lap.

The man with the penlight continues to stand over me attempting to examine me. I don't know who he is, but Tobias seems comfortable with him in the room. He turns the penlight off, and my eyes readjust to the bathroom light. I blink and rub my eyes, looking around, checking to make sure Peter isn't hiding, waiting to kill me behind the open shower curtain.

"Stephen, is she going to be okay?" Tobias asks nervously, to a man who has blonde hair, a crew cut, and blue eyes.

"Yes, I think so. She seems a little dehydrated to me." The man says calmly as he leaves the room to Tobias, who is staring at me with nothing but concern filled eyes.

"He found me, Tobias," I say, grasping his hand. "It was Peter. Peter did this! I know he did! How did he get onto the base?"

"If it was Peter, I don't know, but I am going to find out."

"He is going to come back for me. He is going to hurt me. He is going to kill me." I say, my voice lowered to a hush.

"I'm not going to let him hurt you." He says with a worried look in his eye.

"It's too late. Peter has already hurt me. This is all a game to him. I know it is. I know how Peter likes to play his games."

Tobias's look turns from concerned to murderous when he hears me talk of Peter killing me as his voice hardens, "If he wants a game, then I'm going to give him a game that he will never forget. A game that will be the one to end all of his games. Who the hell does he think he is, breaking and entering into my house? Who does that type of shit for fun? Next time, I'm going to be here when he does it, and I'm going to shoot the bastard. I'm not going to let him touch you, Tris, ever again."

Stephen returns with a glass of water as he says, "Four, she needs some rest and fluids. After that, she should be as good as new." With those words, before I can even respond, Tobias lifts me, cradling me into his chest, carrying me into our bedroom. We both glance around looking for somewhere to sit together, but there isn't any place. The bedroom is destroyed beyond recognition, along with the rest of the house. Tobias sighs as he sets me down onto my feet gently, whispering, "I'm so sorry for all of this."

"No, I'm sorry for ever bringing Peter into your life," I whisper as Stephen hands me a glass of water. I take a large sip first, then down the rest in a large gulp, already feeling better as I listen to Tobias say, "You are worth all of it, even if I have to endure hell itself, you will always be worth it. Peter can do anything he wants to me, but you, you will always be worth it to me, don't forget that." Tears glisten in my eyes at his thoughtful words as I draw him close.

After two more glasses of water and a shower, I return to the living room to look at the damage with a fresh pair of eyes, only to find Stephen and Tobias attempting to put the house back into order. I move into the bedroom and start rearranging it back into working order. Even as Tobias crawls into bed with me that night and holds me against his chest safely, it is no use. My nightmares have returned in full force even with Tobias laying behind me, holding me. I dream about what would have happened to me if I'd been there when Peter broke in. I wake up screaming and sweating as my fist smashes into Tobias's eye.

"Shit!" I'm so sorry." I murmur as tears fill my eyes realizing that I hit Tobias.

"It's fine. Don't cry!" He whispers as he kisses my hair, "It's not like I have never been hit before. I think I am going to go to the commissary tomorrow, and buy some earplugs to help me sleep."

I giggle, "That sounds like a plan. At least that way, I know you will be able to sleep with all the noise that I make throughout the night."

"Maybe, I secretly like listening to all those noises that you make because it means you are still here next to me, sleeping." He grins at me as I smack him in the chest, smiling.

Tobias is nursing his cup of coffee when I come into the living room the next morning. "This is my sixth cup." He says, raising the mug at me. "I don't think this crap is helping at all. I need to get going or I'll be late. At some point today, a repairman should be around to fix the two doors." He kisses me, then leaves in his camouflage uniform as I stare after him, wondering how I was lucky enough to find such a great guy in an airport of all places.

Every little sound in the house makes me jump, and sets my nerves on fire, like when I first came to live with Tobias. I decide to get some fresh air by getting the mail. When I open the mailbox, I discover there is a stack of bills, junk mail, and other things in the mailbox, but sitting on top is a letter in Peter's handwriting, sending waves of nausea through my stomach. My hands shake as I open the letter, reading.

 _Tris,_

 _Leave Eaton or else he will be killed. I will have someone do something to his plane. I have my ways to accomplish that. Did you like my little message that I left for you on the bathroom mirror? I left something for you and I stole something from the house, did you and Eaton figure it out yet?_

 _Love,_

 _Peter (Your not so secret admirer)_

I quickly walk out off the porch of the house, clutching the letter in my fingertips. As I walk, I look around, hoping to clear my mind, but it is no better. I'm looking around every corner waiting for Peter to jump out, to kill me. As I am walking through the center of the base, I see the back of Tobias's cap covered head, walking away from me, in the opposite direction towards the airfield. I take off, running in his direction, but he makes it into an authorized personnel only place, and the two guards stop me from crossing onto the airfield. "I'm looking for Captain Eaton."

"You and everyone else, lady."

"Please! He's my boyfriend. Captain Eaton can't get onto any planes until they are checked." I scream hysterically when I see a plane take off above me, and suddenly it bursts into flames. "Tobias!' I scream, tears rolling down my cheeks.

"Miss." One of the airmen says to me, his voice sounding bored "The young lieutenants are learning to fly drones today. No one is in those."

I hear someone's harsh voice yelling at someone in the distance, and suddenly, Tobias appears behind the two airmen looking pissed off. "What is-" His voice and face drop as he takes in my expression as he pushes past the two guards, pulling me into his chest. He turns to looks at the men, his voice stern, "Gentlemen, if Tris, tells you to come to find me. You best, come find me immediately! Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir."

His voice becomes light as he asks, "Baby, what's wrong? You are shaking like a leaf." My throat tightens as I pinch the letter between my fingertips, handing it to him. His brow scrunches as he reads it. His voice turns deadly as he says, "Check all the damn planes."

"What do you think he stole from the house? What do you think he left" I whisper.

"I don't know. There was nothing missing that I found. There was nothing new, that I saw at least. Maybe he is just messing with us."

"Peter doesn't mess around," I whisper, a shiver shoots up my spine as his arms encircle me, drawing me closer to his chest. He kisses my forehead as the tears continue to flow out of my eyes as I continue, "I was so scared when I saw that plane burst into flames."

Tobias chuckles saying, "The young lieutenants are learning how to fly for the first time. New recruits straight out of officer training school and pilot school, just earned their wings. You wouldn't catch me dead on a plane with one of them flying. Today, I am just teaching them the plane controls."

"What about that plane that burst into flames?"

"That was a drone enemy plane. The drone pilots are also learning new skills for combat today. It is a very busy area back there." He chuckles again to himself.

"Nice of your fellow airmen to inform me after I saw one go up in flames." I grumble at him as he kisses my head, and says "They can't exactly reveal that information. It is classified."

Nothing is found in the planes. It was just Peter making empty threats according to Tobias, but I don't feel so sure. Tobias feels that Peter is trying to get to me and rattle me, which if that is what he is aiming for, then it is working. I, however, feel like Peter never writes or says things that aren't true or going to come true. I don't trust him.

Early, the next morning, an ungodly alarm sounds through the room breaking the silence at four in the morning. It is even earlier than normal for Tobias to wake up, he pulls me closer as I grumble about the time. He kisses my cheek as he gets up to get ready for the day. The bed moving wakes me, rubbing my eyes, I see Tobias in his green flight uniform. He kisses my forehead, as he pulls me close, laying his head in my lap for several seconds. Eventually, he lays next to me, staring at the clock until it hits five. My head on his chest, his arms wrapped tightly around me, fear radiating off him, every once in a while he rubs soothing circling into my back. I know something is wrong. He is never like this. When the clock hits five fifteen he says "Baby, I gotta go."

"What's wrong? Something is wrong. You never act like this!"

He grimaces like he is swallowing something sour saying, "I have a secret temporary duty assignment, but you're not supposed to know that. I'm just feeling a little uneasy about it. I should be home tomorrow. Be careful while I'm gone."

"Of course. You too. Please be careful, Tobias. I'll miss you. I'll be here waiting for you."

He smiles slightly, gently running his fingers along my cheeks as his lips press into mine gently as he kisses me, then picks up his duffle bag, heading out the door. I fall back to sleep for a while. My cell phone wakes me. "Christina!" I sing into the phone.

"So tell me, how is that hunky pilot of yours?" I smile as I answer, "Wonderful. He is everything that Peter isn't or wasn't. Oh God, he invited me to his military ball, and I have no idea what to wear, or even what you are supposed to wear to this thing."

She laughs "Seriously Tris, you are going to have so much fun. Will and I always have fun at his, but make sure you eat before you go. It is a long night before you actually get to the food."

"I'm excited, but I don't want to embarrass him. His ex never went with him so he has never gone to one before, and as you have said before, he is kind of a big deal around here." The idea, sending me into a panic attack.

"Breathe honey! You are going to want to make sure that your nails look good, and probably painted. Your hair should be done in curls or professionally done, and you want a dress that isn't bold in color. Oh, I have the perfect one for you to wear. It is a black ball gown. It is set to come out in my fashion line for next spring for Prom. When is the ball?"

"You're going to kill me."

"Why?"

"It's in nine days."

"Nine days, Tris. You didn't leave me with a lot of time to get the dress out to you, but don't worry. I'll get it to you." She laughs "Oh the best part, Four will be in his dress blues. He should look hot in his because Will always looks hot in his dress uniform, like give me babies right now, hot." I blush and giggle already envisioning Tobias in the blue uniform that I have seen in the bag, that is tucked into the back of the closet, the one that matches his dark blue mysterious eyes, that I want to learn all the secrets behind. "Which one?"

"What do you mean which one?" Christina asks sounding confused.

"Well, he has more than one dress uniform. Which one will he be wearing? His really formal one or his less formal one?"

"Oh, probably his less formal one, but I'm sure he will still look hot! Don't do anything to him that I wouldn't do!" She giggles.

"Christina!"

"What?"

A knock startles me from what I am about to say "I gotta go, Chris, send me the dress. Tell Will hi for me." I walk to the front door where a blonde haired, blue eyed man, who looks familiar to me, but I can't place is standing there with a little girl who has bright red hair and bright blue eyes. I hesitantly open the door. "Hello, Madam. I'm sorry to bother you, but is Captain Eaton home?"

"Oh no, I'm sorry, he isn't." The man turns, bending down to the young girl, whispering something to her, and she starts to cry as they walk away. "Is there something, I can help you with?"

"Don' worry about it, madam."

"Is there a message, I can give to Captain Eaton. I'm not sure when he will be back, but I will be more than happy to give it to him."

"No, Miss. You see Captain Eaton, on his last tour overseas was stationed at the same base as her dad, my partner, and my daughter here was looking to visit with Captain Eaton. Also, I know in his letter that Mark had said he was sending something home for Mattie with Captain Eaton. My over anxious daughter wanted to come to see if daddy, did, in fact, send something as he promised. I'm not sure if you remember me or not, but my name is Stephen. Last time, I saw you, you were pretty shaken up, and this is Mattie, we live next door. I'm sorry, I haven't been over sooner to introduce us, but I have been busy working."

"I'm Tris, but I guess you already know that. I'll let Captain Eaton know that you stopped by, and I will give him your message."

Mattie tugs on Stephen's sleeve saying "Daddy! Do you think Miss Tris wants to go to the park with us?"

He grins at his daughter saying "Oh honey, why don't we let Miss Tris get back to whatever she was doing. We have taken up more than enough of her time. Plus today is our date day."

Mattie begins to pout, looking at her father like she is ready to cry. "Actually, if you don't mind me tagging along, I would love to go to the park with both of you. Let me just grab a few things. It will be nice to get outside, and not stare at these four walls for the rest of the day." Mattie's face lights up with a smile as she begins to jump up and down.

When we are walking to the park, which I learn is down the road in the opposite direction of the main base, Stephen and I talk amongst ourselves as Mattie runs ahead. I tell him that I am an ER nurse. He tells me that he is a physician, which I knew already from Tobias, but I don't tell him that. We exchange stories of how we met our significant others. Stephen tells me that he and Mark, met through friends when one day he came in for a physical. The tips of his ears turn pink as he talks about how he gave Mark several shots in the ass, and how Mark stayed until the end of the day to ask him out for drinks. Stephen had rejected him, telling him no, that he didn't date patients, but Mark kept coming back every day for a month until Stephen finally broke down and told him yes, he would go out for a drink. They got married as soon as proposition eight was struck down in California in two thousand and ten, but until recently their marriage had been kept a secret in the Air Force because of the don't ask, don't tell policy which was repealed in two thousand and eleven. Stephen tells me how he and Mark adopted Mattie when she was three months old shortly before they got legally married, that she has never known any other parents, and that she has made them into even more of a family than they already were.

I tell Stephen a small story about how Four was originally my neighbor, and we started dating. I leave out all the stuff about meeting in the O'Hare airport, the fact that we were both with other people when we met. That Peter beat me, and how Four saved me. Stephen seems generally interested in our story. At the park, Mattie is full of energy. She runs me around, making me play with her, and making me chase her. She has me push her on the swings, and go down the slides with her. She makes me go on the teeter-totter with her. By the end of my time at the park, I am exhausted. For a few short hours, I don't think about Tobias, and how much I miss him already. By the time, the sun is going down, Tobias isn't home still as much as I wish he was. I make dinner, and attempt to go to bed early.

It's futile. I can't sleep. I turn and turn until my dreams overtake me. My nightmares are back and stronger than ever without him by my side. I dream of Peter coming to kill me. My screams are the thing that wakes me. The next day Tobias still isn't home. I look into the counseling that Tori suggested. I feel I don't need it. I read a book for a while, and I watch tv. I eat dinner and go to bed only to be awoken by my own screams once again.

By day three of Tobias being gone, I start to panic. _Why isn't he home yet from his temporary duty assignment? Did something go wrong? Why haven't I heard from him?._ The sound of the quiet morning air is broken with a knock on the front door. I glance at the clock, it reads seven. _Who the hell is that?_ As I round the corner, my heart shatters into a million pieces. Tears prick my eyes, with shaky hands, I grab the door handle to open the door for two airmen standing there in their blue dress uniforms. At that moment, before they say anything, I know my world is about to crumble.

 **Cliff hanger and you all probably want to kill me for it. What do you think the airmen are going to tell Tris when she opens the door? Thoughts on the chapter. Please review and let me know what you thought of this chapter! Next chapter will be up the weekend of February 16.**


	22. Chapter 21 Sorry

**Thank you to everyone who took the time to read the last chapter and review it. I love reading all the reviews. Here is the next chapter. I don't own Divergent and all military-related mistakes are mine. Happy Reading!**

 **Chapter 21 Sorry**

 _"Miss Prior?"_

 _"Yes," I answer, my voice shaky, unsure. "Four, sent us along to collect you, you need to come with us, right away. It is important."_

 _"What? Why?" I ask, unsure if I should go with both of these men, who I have never met before in my life._

 _"It is a surprise, Four told us not to tell you anything, only that we were to bring you to a certain destination, where he will meet you."_

 _"Why hasn't he called me in days and told me this himself?" I ask as my voice raises hysterically as I stare at both these men. I don't believe them. Tobias would never do something like this to me. This sounds like something Peter would do to me. "Miss Prior, please, come with us. We can bring you to Four, he is waiting for you at the airfield. He is waiting to propose."_

 _"What? I don't believe you. You just told me, you couldn't tell me anything, and now you are telling me what is going on!" I shout as they both stare at me like I am crazy._

"Miss Prior," one of the two men says again, and his voice morphs from a dreamlike state, into the man's voice who is standing in front of me.

My vision blurs as one of the two men speaks to me, and I can't comprehend anything that he is saying. all I am replaying is my subconscious dream, "Miss Prior." One of the men tries again, "I think you should sit down. You are looking a little pale."

I shut the screen door behind me, not being able to breathe. "Are you Miss Prior?" My mouth feels sticky. I can't speak, my mind going a million different directions. _What happened to Tobias?_ I shake my head yes, as tears begin to form in my eyes. "You should probably sit down then." The same man says again motioning to the swing that Tobias put up on the porch for little Mattie, that he asked me to be his girlfriend on. "The Secretary of the Air Force regrets to inform you, Captain Eaton is missing in action." He says somberly.

"Missing in action! What the hell does that mean? He went on a fucking secret temporary duty assignment, not a mission!" My voice suddenly coming back to me, terrified. _Did Peter accomplish what he promised and did he do something to his plane?_

"We have no other information other than that. If you wish, you may contact the Air Force Secretary, he is currently on base. He has more information than we do at this time."

"Tell me the truth. What happened!" I yell at them as the tears sting my eyes and begin to brim over, falling down my cheeks.

"I'm sorry ma'am, but we can't. It is against our protocol."

"Fuck your protocol! You come here, destroy my life with one statement and what? Expect me just to swallow your pathetic excuse of sorry we don't know any more than your boyfriend is missing in action." I can't bring myself to say Tobias's name out loud. With my hands shaking, I grip my shirt, squeezing the fabric between my fingers, wanting to rip it to shreds, not believing what they are telling me about Tobias.

I see one of the men's adam apple bob up and down as he swallows hard, uncomfortable with the situation that I forced him into. "Captain Eaton's plane left radar two days ago. He never made it to the location of his temporary duty assignment. We have been searching the area where his plane went missing, but all we can find are the remains of the destroyed plane. We have looked everywhere, but we have been unable to find any human remains. The Colonel asked us to come over and give you our condolences. Captain Eaton, he was a good man, a good airmen, a good leader, a good friend to everyone, and he will be deeply missed. If you need anything, please feel free to let anyone at the Air Force base know."

"No that can't be. Tobias, he can't be gone." I cry uncontrollably, hugging my knees to myself. The other airmen, who has been quiet this whole time reaches over, gently touching my shoulder, trying to provide comfort, that I don't want. "Don't touch me!" I cry as I hug my legs tighter to my chest.

"We are sorry, ma'am." They both say at the same time as I run into the house, leaving them both behind, going into his closet to find one of his military jackets that says EATON, and put it on, hugging it tightly around me. I sit on the closet floor crying, rocking back and forth. Tobias and I never got a chance. We never got a chance for our relationship to grow. I never got a chance to tell him that I love him. I never got the chance to tell him that he was the best thing to ever happen to me. I never got the chance to thank him for saving me from Peter. Now, that time is gone forever. I pull Tobias's jacket tighter, it feels like he is there, hugging me, holding me, telling me, everything is going to be alright. The jacket still smells like him, making me feel even worse.

 _How am I suppose to pick up the pieces of my life again?_ News of Captain Eaton's status spreads like wildfire throughout the base within twenty-four hours, it feels like the whole base knows about what happened. Neighbors crawl out of the woodwork, knocking on the door asking if I need any help, or if I need anything at all. I mostly just shut the door in their faces, not wanting to talk to anyone. Shauna comes knocking on the door that week, with glassy eyes saying, "Tris, you are the only one who understands." Her face has dried tears on it.

"What?" I ask, just before I shut the door in her face.

"Zeke went missing with Four, and now I can't stop," she takes a big breath, tears building in her eyes as she continues, "I can't stop seeing him in every space of our house, everywhere on this base. How am I suppose to go on without him? We only got married two years ago. He is the love of my life, the only love that I have ever known. Oh God, he doesn't even know. I found out yesterday morning that I am pregnant, and I never got the chance to tell him. He is gone now, forever. I'm a single mother now, and the Air Force wants me to put the pieces of my life back together after they destroyed my life with less than ten words and a knock on my door." I pull her close, hugging her as we break down crying together in the doorway.

Days blur together until one day, the postman knocks on the front door, requesting my signature for a box. I sign, then open the box. Inside is a beautiful blackish gray sleeveless satin gown with lace that goes from collarbone to the top of the waist from Christina. My stomach drops as I realize this is the dress that I was supposed to wear with Tobias to his military ball. On top of the dress are four dark blue boxes that read Swarovski. I open the first box, to find long white gold earrings that look as though they would go down to my jaw. Each earring has thirty small crystals in them. They are beautiful. The second box holds a grey crystal dust bangle. The third box holds a grey crystal dust chocker with a note that reads: _This can either go in your hair or on your neck. Can't wait to see pictures._

The fourth box holds a black sparkly purse with another note that reads: _The dress and jewelry are on lone to you. However, this purse is yours to keep. I hope you have a blast at the ball, and that Four's jaw drops when he sees you in this. -Christina :)_

Since the closet breakdown, I have been pushing my emotions down into a box, and secretly believing that Tobias will walk through the front door any moment in that stupid flight suit of his. I grab my cell and call his cell for what seems the millionth time, needing to hear his voice, since those men came to my door, and blew my whole world apart, telling me that he was missing in action. His cellphone goes to voicemail, and I listen to his voice gruffly say "This is Four. Leave a message."

I hang up, tears in my eyes, ready to throw my phone when my finger accidentally hits the photo button. Picture upon picture, that I don't remember taking are on my phone. I remember Tobias playing around with my phone, one day and us taking silly selfies, but I didn't think he kept them. I flip to the first picture, it is of us covering each other's eyes with our hands, smiling, laughing. I remember laughing at him, wondering what he was doing. Another one, he is staring at me with a loving expression on his face, his eyes closed, a slight smile playing on his lips, as his forehead is pressed into my temple as I smile at the camera, taking a selfie. The last two are of each of us giving each other kisses on the cheek. I move my finger again, and there is a video message from Tobias. He looks sleepy, dressed in his flight uniform. He rubs his eyes with a slight smile tugging on his lips as he records a message for me.

"Hi, beautiful. I wish I didn't have to leave you today, but it will only be for a day. I'll be back before you even have time to miss me, but I'll miss you while I'm gone. Tris, you are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I just wanted you to know that. I better put your phone back before you realize that I stole it to record this. Not to mention, I want to lay with you for a little while before I leave. Think of me while I'm gone, because in case you ever foolishly forget. I am never not thinking of you. I am always thinking about you Tris, every single second, of every single day, you are on my mind."

I'm in tears by the time the video is over, I reply it over, and over again, just to see him again, to hear his voice, to see his smile one more time. All it does is break my heart more every time that I watch the video, making me see how much I lost.

 **Please don't kill me! Thoughts? Opinions? Now the question of the hour is: Do you really think Tobias is dead, or are you holding out hope that he is still alive like Tris is? Also, what do you think really happened to Tobias? Next chapter will be up the weekend of March 2. In case anyone was wondering what Tris's things that Christina sent look like, they are posted on my Pinterest board for this story. The link is on my profile. Please review!**


	23. Chapter 22 Hide away

**Hey readers: here is the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy it. Fair warning it is on the shorter side, but when I was editing it this chapter needed to be cut here for certain reasons. Sorry I wasn't able to personally respond to everyone who reviewed, however I have been horribly sick, and now I am hopefully on the mend. However, I did read all the reviews and I appreciated them. Happy Reading!**

 **Chapter 22 Hide Away**

A knock breaks the empty, quiet mid-morning air. My face feels tight from crying all morning. I open the door to see Stephen standing there, staring at his feet, when he hears the front door creek, his eyes lift to mine. "Tris, I heard about Four." I move to shut the door before he can finish. I can't stomach another, 'I'm sorry' today from another person. His hand keeps the door from slamming shut in his face as I swing the door quickly.

"I'm not in the mood for company," I mutter.

"I know. I just thought that you could use someone to yell at or something or be pissed at the world with. I can do that for you. Maybe we can get a drink together because the world isn't a fair place."

"Are there even any bars around here?" I ask, liking, the idea of an alcoholic drink, suddenly feeling like I can't breathe as I stare at the walls of Tobias's house, my eyes catching on his 'Fear God Alone' picture on the wall, feeling the walls closing in on me.

"Of course, you are on a military base, after all. I will find us the very best one." He smirks at me.

"Wait, what about Mattie? Where is she?"

"Staying with friends at the moment." He answers as I shut the door behind me.

"How's Mark?" I ask Stephen as I walk down the street, trying to make small talk, wanting to avoid silence at all costs.

"Mark, at the moment. I hate him."

"What happened?"

"Nothing that he can control, stupid political crap, keeping him away from our daughter and me. His deployment got extended, but you have the trump card of a missing or dead boyfriend. At least, my husband is alive and well for now. He was supposed to be home by now, this is the second time that his deployment has gotten extended. Now, he will have been gone for over a year, and I miss him, terribly. I am tired of trying to explain to Mattie when daddy is coming home or having to explain to her, why he isn't coming home when he is suppose to. But, enough about my problems," He smiles as he bumps his shoulder with mine. "What are you going to do about Four's final arrangements? I'm sure it is a lot of work, if you need help or need an ear, I am here."

"I am trying not to think about it, but I know, I need to start making arrangements. I just feel like if I do, then it will all be real, and in my heart, I don't believe that he is dead."

"Why do you say that?"

"They never found his body."

"Oh, Tris," the way Stephen says my name it sounds like Tobias walking behind me, my head turns, thinking that he is behind me, but he isn't. There is only black, empty road. "His plane went down. You really think he survived a fiery crash like that? Most of the time, they never find a body because the body gets burned beyond recognition, think about it." The tears start to roll down my face as I glance behind me, willing Tobias to appear behind me as my mind drifts to the last time that Tobias ever kissed me, thinking it could have truly been the last, our last embrace. Stephen stares at me like I have two heads as he ushers me into the bar, and hands me a shot of whiskey, urgently. I down the shot. The burn of the liquor as it goes down my throat makes me feel better. Stephen and I take shot after shot as I try to drown my sorrow, attempting to lose my thoughts of Tobias, and everything that I could have lost, if he really did die in that plane crash.

"You know, you should be my date for the military ball," Stephen says, looking at me out of the side of his eye.

"I was supposed to go with Four, but clearly that isn't going to happen," I whisper, blowing my bangs out of my face.

"Yeah, well Mark and I were supposed to be going together too, but clearly that isn't happening as he is still three thousand miles away. Come as my date."

"Is that even allowed?" I ask, giving him side eye.

"Of course, it is allowed. I'm in the Air Force too, remember. How did you not figure that out from my story of how I met Mark. Be my date, Tris?" He asks, his eyes turning serious as he looks me in the eye, "You need a night out, away from all of this."

"Well, I do have a dress and everything else, my best friend sent me. She is a fashion designer in New York."

"Oh Yeah? Anyone that I would know?"

"Christina." I smile as the alcohol starts to cloud my head.

"Oh, I know that designer, she makes great kids clothing. Mattie absolutely loves her dresses. She is fantastic. Wait! Are you serious, she is your best friend and even sent you stuff to wear to the ball?" I smile, biting my lip, not replying to him. "Now, you are definitely going with me."

"Fine." I grumble "But, I need to go home to sleep, first."

Stephen helps me off the stool, putting his arm around my shoulders as we both stumble down the street. I fall up the stairs, laughing to myself as I open the front door, as Stephen stands at the bottom watching me. I turn to wave at Stephen, who is smiling at me with a goofy grin on his face, "Good night, Tris. See you tomorrow."

"Night." I sigh, turning towards the open door.

As I enter the living room, all my memories rush back to me of Tobias in this house, or of us in this house, of every look, every touch that he ever gave me, and every memory that floats into my brain causes tears to rush to my eyes, and the tears start rolling down my face, as I crawl into bed wearing Tobias's Air Force jacket, wishing life wasn't so cruel, as I stare at the night sky out the bedroom window.

 **Thoughts and opinions about this chapter? Please review. Do you think Tris should start planning Four's final arrangements like Stephen said she should, do you think that she should ask for help with the planning, or are you still thinking like Tris, that Four is alive? If you were in Tris's postion would you be hiding away from the world, not wanting to hear another 'I'm sorry.' Thoughts on Stephen? Next chapter will be up on the weekend on March 16.**


	24. Chapter 23 Keep Swinging

**Hello readers, here is the next chapter in the story. I hope you all enjoy it. Happy Reading!**

 **Chapter 23 Keep Swinging**

My dreams are hunted by Tobias that night. I can see his plane crashing to the ground as I stand helpless in a field with a fire burning all around his body as he screams for help in his plane, my help, as I try to run to him, but can't get to him as hard as I try. I'm trapped by a glass box as Peter stands next to me smiling, laughing at me, wrapping his arms around me, pulling me away from Tobias, away from the scene of the crime. I wake with sweat pouring off of me, my heart pounds as I look around the darkened house. I need to get out of here. I need to start living my life again. I feel trapped inside this place. Tobias, would not have wanted me to sit around crying over him all the time. _I thought I was stronger than this, after everything I went through._

Unable to sleep any longer, I start the impossible task of starting to pack up his house, knowing it needs to be done sooner or later. I save one of his camouflage jackets, unable to part with it and place it into my luggage. His old gray Air Force t-shirt that says EATON on the back from his time in Officer Training School, I pick up from the bed. The feeling, the smell, and the look of the shirt all brings me comfort as I hold it tightly against my chest. Tears threaten to fall from my eyes as I look around the house as the daunting task begins to sink in. Seeing all his different uniforms that I have to box up, to give away, I feel lost thinking about it. I need to figure out what to do with his few worldly possessions. My chest hurts as I look around the house, gripping the shirt with my fingertips wondering how I am going to manage everything by myself. As I open his desk drawer, to start packing his few belongings, I see a black leather book. My instincts tell me to open it, I do. Inside, I find several pencil sketches of what look to be of me, I have his aviators on, and I am pouting at him, in one of them. I remember that day. It was the day of our first kiss and the day that he took me flying for the first time. As the memories overpower me, I know that I need to leave California.

As I stare at the video of Tobias on my phone once again for what feels like the millionth time, wondering what else I didn't know about Tobias. I decide to start over in New York, to go live with Christina and Will, unable to live with this invisible ghost haunting these halls any longer. I know that Will and Chris will take me in until I can get a new job. I can't keep seeing memories of Tobias and me around every corner. Needing fresh air, I head out of the house to the middle of the base. I'm meeting with Tobias's commander today to come up with arrangements on what to do with his house and his funeral or memorial. "Colonel." I smile as I see an older man looking uncomfortable, on a bench outside, in the middle of the small park in military clothing.

"Miss Prior?" He asks, putting his hand out for me to shake.

"Yes, but please call me Tris," I say, taking his hand, shaking it.

"Then please, call me Max. My secretary was a little sparse on the details of what this meeting was about it. So please, the floor is yours."

I take a deep breath and say, "Sir, Captain Eaton and I are, I guess we were in a relationship. He named me as his contact as you are probably aware. Now that he is no longer with us according to your men. I would like to know what I need to do in order to start the arrangements for a memorial service or something for him. Also, his house. I'm not sure what to do with it." My voice catches as I say, "I've started packing it up, but. . ."

Max holds up a hand, as he says "Tris, the Air Force will take care of everything for you in terms of dealing with Captain Eaton's final arrangments. I assume you want a full military burial."

I shake my head yes. I never imaged at the age of twenty-four that I would be talking about military burials, but this is my life now. "Do you know where you like the service to take place? Perhaps a church or something like that." He asks bringing me out of my thoughts. _Tobias and I never discussed this. Tobias never talked about church. Hell, I haven't gone to church since my parents died._

"Yeah." A small smile spreads across my lips. "Travis AirField." I think about how Tobias's face lit up when he flew a plane, when I flew with him, how happy he looked, and how at peace he looked up in the sky.

"We don't normally allow such things to happen, but under this circumstance, I will allow it because it is Captain Eaton."

"Thank you, sir."

"Miss Prior, I'm sorry for your loss. Captain Eaton was a great airman, a great leader, and a great guy in general."

"So I have heard," I say, smiling as I begin to walk away, Max stops me saying, "Tris, take all the time that you need to pack and finish getting the house in order for moving. Also, whenever you are ready for the memorial service. Call my office, and we will get the ball rolling."

"Thank you," I whisper as I walk away, trying to hold back tears. The rest of the day is spent crying as I pack up the rest of Tobias's fatigues and the rest of his house. I work myself into exhaustion. I lay in bed wondering if I am making the right decision about going to the ball with Stephen, after all, this was supposed to be mine and Tobias's special night. The next morning, when my phone rings, and it is Christina FaceTiming me, I know the time has come to make my decision about if I should move to New York or not, have a change in scenery. I also need to decide if I am going to the ball with Stephen or not. When she calls a second time. I answer as I try to plaster a smile on my face, trying to hide from her all my hurt, all my pain as I say "Hey!"

Chris smiles at me for a quick second then says, "You got your curling iron heating up yet?"

"Of course," I smirk at her as she walks me through how to do my hair and makeup, step by step for the dress. When she mentions something about Four, wondering where he is, my facial expression breaks, and I can't hold the smile on my lips any longer. The tears burst forth from the dam. The words explode from my lips as I spill my guts to her, telling her about how the Air Force has him listed as missing in actions, but how everyone is telling me that is dead, about how I don't believe them, about how tomorrow I plan on going to the airport to get the first ticket out of California to New York to start fresh.

Chris stands there in shock, silent for a moment, her mouth opening and closing like a fish, finally she whispers, "I'm so sorry, Tris. Let me know when your plane is scheduled to get in, and I will be sure to pick you up, then Will and I will take you out to get your mind off of everything."

"Thanks, Chris. You really are the best friend a girl can have. Does this look okay?" I ask, unsure about my look.

"You look gorgeous." She giggles, grinning at me. I see Will behind her as he says, "You look great, Tris."

I blush at his statement as I say, "Thanks, Will."

My hair is done is a low bun at the base of my neck with a few wisps of hair coming down curled. The chocker, I used as a hairpiece, instead of a necklace, and my eyes are dark and smokey. I feel like and look like a princess. I lay out Tobias's dress blues, torturing myself some more as I stand in my dress, imagining how he would have looked in them tonight if he were here. As I finish fixing the metals on Tobias's dress uniform jacket, there is a loud, fast knock on the door. "I'm coming," I yell, placing my sparkle flats on, expecting to find Stephen at the door, instead I find Shauna crying, banging on the screen door again.

"Shauna, what's up?"

"They found them!" She says excitedly.

"Found who?"

"They found Zeke and Four. Max just called me and told me. He said that they are pretty banged up, but that they are very much alive!"

"What?"

"Tris, they found Four alive. Come with me. I'll take you to the base hospital."

 **Thoughts and opinions on this chapter? I can't wait to hear them. I know I left you all with a little bit of a cliffhanger, so please don't kill me. Next chapter will be up on the weekend of March 30. Please review!**


	25. Chapter 24 Here I Am Alive

**Thank you to everyone who took the time to read the last chapter and to everyone who reviewed. I don't own Divergent and as always all military-related mistakes are mine. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Happy Reading!**

 **Chapter 24 Here I Am Alive**

My breathing stops, my vision gets blurry from the tears in my eyes as Shauna yanks me out the door into her car as she speeds to the base hospital, my head is spinning, and my mind is going a million different directions, my ears still not believing what she told me when I answered the door. My voice catches as I whisper "Are you sure it is him?"

"Yes. Max told me that he was one thousand percent sure that it was Four and Zeke." Shauna squeezes my hand as she wipes a tear from her eye as she drives the car into a parking lot labeled _hospital parking_. We both sprint into the ER lobby from the car, only to be told by the nurse at the front desk to wait in the family room, that she can't release any information on patient conditions.

Shauna paces the room as I sit in the chair, watching her. After several moments of silence, she says, "Why won't they let us anywhere near them? Why can't they release any information?" I shrug my shoulders at her, all my nursing knowledge suddenly leaving my head, my mind fights with my heart. I want to burst through the doors and find Tobias. I want to know that he is safe somewhere in this tiny hospital. I eye the clock with disgust as Shauna sits next to me, grabbing ahold of my hand, whispering in a firm, but unsure voice, "They are both alright. They need to be, right?" I shrug my shoulders, not replying to her as she continues "You look pretty, Tris. Where were you going?"

"Our neighbor, Stephen, was making me go to the ball tonight, with him, but now I'm definitely not going. Not since they found Four alive."

"I forgot that the ball was tonight. Zeke never wanted to go because none of his friends were going to it." She laughs, "Typical guy," and for the first time in nine long days, I see her smile. "Mrs. Pedred, you can see First Lieutenant Pedred, but I must advise you to be prepared. He has been through a lot, and I wouldn't stay for very long. He needs his rest." She squeezes my hand one last time, then gets up following the nurse, disappearing behind closed doors reading _employees only_.

I wait for another twenty minutes, glaring at the clock, feeling every minute that I am away from Tobias. A short nurse with a black pixie cut walks out, and says "Miss Prior, you can see Captain Eaton now." She blushes as she says his name. "Follow me. Don't stay too long. He needs his rest. Don't push him to talk about what happened out there. If he wants to talk about it, then let him. He is pretty banged up, but he should make a full recovery eventually, but he isn't out of the woods yet. He has been asking about you. He told me that you are a nurse yourself."

"Yes." I say as she turns to me sternly saying, "I trust you know what a stage three liver laceration and hematoma means then." I shake my head knowing that Tobias is bleeding internally and needs surgery. That his liver laceration is serious, but at least it isn't a level six.

She opens the door to a dark room. I can hear the beep beep of the heart monitor before I see him. He has oxygen going into his nose. He looks as pale as a ghost. He has a blood pressure cuff on this right upper arm that takes his blood pressure every five minutes. From what I can see his blood pressure is good on the monitor, bringing me a sigh of relief. He has an IV of normal saline going into his right hand. His left hand and wrist are in a splint. His arms are black and blue, along with parts of his face, and he has a split lip. His hair is unruly, going in every direction, and in need of a cut once again. He has a beard again, which makes him look like a different man, similar to the man who moved in next to Peter and me. He has his thick-rimmed glasses on. He is sleeping peacefully, breathing steadily, and the sight of him alive, breathing, brings tears to my eyes.

I lightly rub his head, trying to will myself to believe that he is here, that he is alive. His head turns toward me, towards my hand, as his eyes slowly open, and I am met with his brilliant blue eyes that I thought I would never see again. "Tris?" He croaks, a slight smile forming on his lips.

"Yeah," I say hoarsely, trying to hold back the tears that are starting to escape down my cheeks. "Are you alright?"

He avoids the question as he says, "Baby, don't cry. Come here." He opens his arms to me, and I lightly hug him, trying to believe that he is real, that he is alive laying in front of me.

"I can't believe that you are alive. I thought you were dead." I say, gently touching his face, as tears continue to pool in my eyes. I want to bury my face into his chest, but I am scared to hurt him. I don't want to take my eyes off him. I am scared that he is going to disappear in front of my eyes again.

"Me too, for a while, I thought I was dead. But then the Coast Guard found Zeke and me. You look amazing in that dress, by the way. Where were you going?"

"Stephen, your next-door neighbor, asked me to be his date to the ball since you weren't here."

"Oh yes, Stephen. He is a good guy. I was stationed with his husband Mark, and their daughter, Mattie is a cutie. She has a crush on me. I'm not sure if I told you that or not. I have something for her from Mark, I forgot to give it to her, can you give it to her for me, it is in the nightstand."

"I missed you, Tobias, I was so worried about you," I whisper, changing the subject off of Stephen, Mark, and Mattie.

"I missed you, Tris, so very much. I was worried about you. You are the only reason that I survived that place that Zeke and I crashed into. When my plane was crashing, I prayed to God, I told him I was sorry for everything that I had ever done wrong in my life, and I told him that I would try to be a better person. I just wanted to see you one more time. That was it, and I would die happy. When my plane was going down, I thought I was going to die Tris, but when I woke up, Zeke had ejected both of us, and we were in the middle of the ocean, with no land in sight. We floated on our seats for a day or two, then I saw land, along with the plane that we had been flying, still burning. I looked inside the plane for anything useful, trying to call for help, but then debris fell down and hit me hard in the side and stomach. Zeke and I thought the Air Force would come looking for the plane, but they never did. We sat there for days on the beach. Days and not one single person came looking for us, Tris. The Air Force left us for dead. The guys in the Coast Guard found us by accident when they were searching for someone else who had disappeared in the same area off of a fishing vessel." I can see the tears gathering in his eyes. "Then come to find out, they told you, I was dead, and you started making arrangements for my memorial. You thought I was dead too. Didn't you?"

"No Tobias. I didn't want to believe it, but everyone kept telling me otherwise. What would you have me do?"

"Believe that I would never leave you after everything you have been through." He says angrily as his eyes move towards the wall. "It is one thing to be left by the Air Force, and for them to give up hope! But, for you to give up hope on me, that is something else entirely different. That is a whole other level of betrayal."

"Tobias, I. . ."

"Get Out!" He yells, turning red in the face.

"Tobias, can we talk about this!"

"Get Out, Tris! I don't want to see you ever again."

"Tobias!"

"I said get out!" He screams as I fall over a chair, trying to back out of the room, only to fall into the door with a loud bang before my world turns black.

 **I know another cliffhanger, and you all want to kill me for it. But don't because then the story won't be updated anymore. ;) So any ideas on why Tobias is acting this way. Thought and opinions on this chapter can't wait to hear them. Next update will be on the weekend of April 15th.**


	26. Chapter 25 After Seven Minutes in Heaven

**Hey, readers here is the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy. This chapter is a little bit shorter sorry about that, but originally when I was cutting this story and figuring out chapter this seemed like a good place to cut. Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter! Happy Reading!**

 **Chapter 25 After Seven Minutes In Heaven**

 _A bunch of unknown people_ stare _at me in formal clothing in the middle of a dance floor. I feel the subconscious sway of my body as a Fall Out Boy song fills the speakers of a room. I pull away from my dance partner, and I find myself dancing with Stephen, who is in his dress blues when the song changes to a slow one and Stephen backs away from me slowly with a knowing smile creeping across his lips. I spin around the dance floor looking for a new partner to dance with. I'm halfway around the room when my eyes land on Tobias. He's there in his dress blues, the ones that match his dark blue eyes. He has a huge smile on his lips. He has a wrist corsage in his hands, and he hands it to me as he says "You look beautiful. You are the most beautiful girl in this room. I don't even see anyone else, but you, Tris."_

 _He kisses me gently on the lips as I pull away, I murmur against his lips "You look handsome."_

 _"I'm sorry I'm so late." He whispers as I giggle, "Better late than never." My fingers play with his hair on the back of his neck as he sighs contently, "I missed that sound so much."_

 _"What sound?" I ask, confused._

 _"Your laugh. It is one of the best sounds in the world. I love you, Tris. I love you so much it hurts. I'm sorry I left you for so long." He whispers as we dance, our foreheads touching._

 _"You love me?" I ask, not believing the words that Tobias is finally telling me, the ones that I have been subconsciously waiting to hear for so long from him._

 _"Of course, I do. I have loved you for a while now. I was just too foolish to tell you."_

 _"I love you, Tobias, so much."_

 _"Tris,"_ but Tobias's voice morphs into someone else's voice as he spins me and dips me "Tris!"

Bright lights shine into my eyes. "Tris, squeeze my hands if you can hear me." I don't feel like squeezing anyone's hands, my head is pounding, and I feel like vomiting after the memories of Tobias telling me he never wanted to see me again re-emerge into my mind.

I blink open my eyes to see a sterile looking room, bright lights, with doctors surrounding me, staring at me. I move to sit up, but one of them gently pushes me back down saying "Miss Prior, please stay laying down. You took a pretty hard fall. We need to do scans to make sure you are okay after you hit your head."

"No. I need to get the hell out of here, and away from you people. I don't want to see any of you until you fix my boyfriend." One of them raises his eyebrow at me like I have gone crazy. "Captain Eaton, fix him!" He wasn't like this before that stupid mission."

"Miss Prior, we can't fix, Captain Eaton."

"And why not?" I yell.

"Because only he can do that for himself. Actually, your little argument caused him to start bleeding internally, he was taken to the OR (operating room) shortly after we found you unconscious in his room. After surgery, he will be brought to the ICU (intensive care unit) for recovery. We don't want you to visit Captain Eaton, anymore, at least, until he is more stable, and fully recovered from surgery."

"Don't worry doctor, Captain Eaton and I are no longer together. He made that perfectly clear when he told me that he never wanted to see me again. You don't need to worry about me upsetting him again. Now, I'll just be on my way." I say, trying to jump down off the table.

"We can't let you do that." The pixie haircut nurse says quickly as she touches me gently, pushing me to lay back down on the table. "We need to make sure that you are okay, Tris. Do you really think Captain Eaton would want you to avoid medical attention?"

"Hurry up!" I shout, "I don't have all night for this."

I patiently let them take their scans of my head which come back as negative for anything. I refuse to hear any status updates on Tobias from anyone, even from the pixie haircut nurse, who took care of Tobias, who attempts to give updates to me long after everyone else gives up. Finally, I am released from the hospital, early the next morning, after all my results come back as negative, and I attempt to find my way back to the house.

Picking up my dress skirt, my cell in hand, I find a map of the base, and attempt to find my way home from the hospital. As of tomorrow, I'm leaving this place, my mind full of confusion, needing a break, a vacation. Tobias and I are no longer together. My brain and my heart battle over if I should stay here and fight for him or if I should give him what he wants and leave him alone. My mind telling me I have no reason to stay here, no future in this state without him. He made it perfectly clear when he was screaming at me that he never wanted to see me again. My heart tells me to stay, to fight for him no matter what it costs me in the end. After an hour of walking, I find the house, finally, after getting lost a few times, my heart and brain still in turmoil even after that hour of reflection.

The screen door is swinging open on the front porch, and the front door is unlocked to a pitch dark house when I try the handle. I head into the bedroom to put Tobias's dress blues away from where they were lying on the bed, but they aren't there. I could have sworn I left them out. The garment bag is hanging up, I start to unzip it, but there is nothing inside. A squeaking of a floorboard with a bang of the garage door opening sends my heart beating quickly. As I spin around in the closet, I notice Tobias's everyday uniforms are hung up on the wrong side. Those were in the boxes when I left. A sense of dread runs up my spine. _Is someone in here?_

 **What did you think of the chapter? Please review and let me know. Do you think someone is in the house or do you think it is Tris's imagination running wild? If you think it is someone, who do you think is in the house with Tris? Can't wait to hear your guess. Next chapter will be up the weekend April 27th.**


	27. Chapter 26 My Bloody Valentine

**Hey everyone before reading this chapter, I just wanted to give everyone a fair warning that this chapter is rated M for violence, language, and adult situations. I don't own Divergent and as always all military-related mistakes are mine. Thank you to everyone who continues to read and review this story. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. My nerves are high going into this chapter. Someone might be in the house and now we can find out who. Happy Reading!**

 **Chapter 26 My Bloody Valentine**

All my hairs stand up on my body. "Hello?" I say loudly into the hallway.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" I shout again, no one answers. A bang on the front door startles me, my heart pounds loudly in my ears as my fingertips shake as I answer the door. As I pull the front door open, I let out a breath that I didn't realize that I was holding when I see Stephen and Mattie standing there on the porch, in PJs, with a measuring cup. I try to smile at them as Stephen says, "Hey, sorry to bother you this late at night, but Mattie and I were up trying to make cookies to send to Mark, neither of us could sleep. We were wondering; if we could have a cup of milk. This receipt that we are trying, calls for more than I have in the house, and we were also wondering if you wanted to join us, baking?"

"Thanks, but I'm exhausted from the emotional roller coaster of tonight, sorry. Maybe next time. I'm sure Four has some milk around here somewhere, let me check. How much do you need?" I ask, trying to will my nerves to settle down.

"Just a cup." He smiles shyly as he hands over the cup saying, "Leave it to Mattie and me to decide at two in the morning to start baking. I have learned my lesson to never give her sugar before bed again." I giggle as I walk into the kitchen with the cup, pull out the milk, and pour some out into a glass. Bringing the cup back to Stephen and Mattie, I smile as I hand it over, and say, "Have fun baking, save me a cookie, please."

"We will Miss Tris." Mattie smiles as she skips across the road tugging Stephen behind her, towards the house. As the screen door bangs loudly for the second time after shutting the door, I jump as I mutter to myself, "Get a grip, Tris. No one is here, your imagination is running wild tonight!"

As I am turning the corner back to the bedroom, I feel a hand cover my mouth as a sick, sadistic voice fills my ear, whispering, "Found you! I told you I would!" _Peter!_

Shivers run up my spine as he pulls my thrashing body into the garage as he snaps, "Stop fighting against me. You will only hurt yourself."

"Help! Help! Help me!" I scream into his hand, desperate for anyone to hear me. He laughs as he says, "No one will hear you! Everyone is either still at that stupid military ball or fast asleep. So go one and scream all you want." My mind tells me, Peter is right. I saw none of the neighbor's cars parked as I walked up the road tonight. The only person that I know is home and awake is Stephen and Mattie. Another shiver runs up my spine, thinking about Peter's hands-on Mattie, his fists connecting with Stephen's jaw. I fight against Peter as he ties me to a chair. I try to bite him as he laughs in my face saying, "Tris. Tris. Tris. I see you have changed. Oh, how I have missed you. I love this new side to you."

"Well, I didn't miss you!" I scream at him as he smiles at me with an evil glare, "I have been expecting you all night, you are going to pay for running away with Eaton."

"You are crazy. I didn't run away with Four. I left you, Peter. After you beat the crap out of me!"

"Now, tonight will be a three-part program. Shall we get started?" I don't answer him, not wanting to play into his games any further. I just glare at him.

"What, no smart mouth comebacks, now! Answer me, you bitch!" His hand flies to my cheek, and before I can register what is happening, my cheek stings, tears flood my eyes.

"Fine Peter, what is this three-part program." I spit at him, holding back the urge to roll my eyes at him.

"Well, I'm so glad you asked. Part one, you confess all your sins to me. After which, I will decide the punishment for each indiscretion. The second part is that I will kill Eaton, and the third part will be that I will be killing Caleb, making you watch both of their deaths. It will either be that or I will make you kill them both, I haven't decided yet, whichever one makes me happier."

"You are a sick fuck!" I yell at him. "Good luck getting to either of them!" I say as my rage turns into laughter bubbling up to the surface.

"Oh Tris, little do you know Caleb was actually quite easy to get."

"You're a liar."

"Drew, bring in the hostage!" Peter says clapping his hands together as he takes a seat across from me, twirling a gun in his hands as he stares at me smirking. Drew pushes Caleb in, "Tris. I'm sorry." He says as Drew handcuffs him to a metal chair.

"Shut up!" Drew says as he hits him in the back of the head with his gun.

"Stop!" I yell, "Leave my brother alone. He did nothing wrong!"

"You left me, Tris. If you had just stayed with me, Caleb, here, would have been just fine, but you had to go running off with Eaton. Everything that happens here tonight is your fault." Peter says pacing back and forth in front of me, smiling wickedly at me. I bite my tongue, wanting to argue with him. Arguing with Peter will get Caleb and me in even more trouble than we are already in. "Now, I bet you are wondering, how Caleb ended up here in California when he was living in D.C." My jaw drops as I hear Peter reveal that he knew where Caleb was the whole time. "Surprised? Don't be. I told you, I have spies everywhere."

"Caleb!" I yell, panic evident in my voice.

"Dear Caleb was worried when you weren't picking up your cellphone, ignoring his phone calls, and weren't returning his phone calls. I took it upon myself, as your boyfriend, while you were in the shower, getting ready for that stupid ball to inform him as Four that you were feeling a bit depressed, and had checked yourself into rehab again. I informed him, I had found you bleeding out on the floor from your thighs being cut the night before." Peter laughs manically.

"Caleb, how could you not recognize Peter's voice?" I snap at him. Caleb shrugs his shoulders. I roll my eyes at him. Caleb responds sadly, "Peter tricked me. I thought he was Four when I was talking to him. I have never spoken to Four. How am I suppose to know you weren't cutting yourself again? We were talking regularly for a while, and then suddenly you went silent on me."

"Really Caleb!"

"Peter, when he was acting as Four, told me he had found out about your past suicide attempt, and that after you got out of rehab, he was going to leave you. That he couldn't deal with someone with that type of heavy baggage. I took a vacation from my job, and I was coming out to support you during this difficult time, to be there for you as your brother. I was, going to offer you to move out to D.C. with me as a fresh start."

"Caleb, Four and I are happy together." I snap at Caleb, leaving out what happened at the hospital hours again between Four and I. _Now, is not the time nor place to talk about that._

"I'm sorry. I thought you needed your brother."

I try to clear my mind, shaking my head. I can't be mad at Caleb, he was trying to protect me, be a good brother, like I have been trying to protect him for years from Peter. I can try to get Caleb and me out of this situation in one piece, if I try hard enough, I just need a solid plan. At least, Peter doesn't have Tobias. That would be bad. He is less than six hours out of major surgery.

That's when I take in Peter's appearance: his normal dark shiny hair is colored, it is colored closer to Tobias's brown hair. His eyes, normally green are blue. He smirks at me as he stands in front of me wearing Tobias's tan uniform t-shirt, camouflage fatigue pants, and boots. _Shit,_ I think to myself. _What did he do, or what is he planning to do?_

"Tris, how about this, we exchange secret for secret. You tell me a secret, and I'll give you one in return before I kill you. That seems fair."

"Go to hell Peter," I say, narrowing my eyes at him, making my voice sound stern like I have heard Tobias do with less ranking airmen that have pissed him off.

"Fine, you don't want to cooperate, you leave me no other choice than this, Drew, bring in the other prisoner," Peter says twirling the gun around on his fingertips.

Tobias stumbles in blindfolded, wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt, looking white as a sheet. A splint on his hand, and walking boot on. He grips his side. His breathing is steady as he tries to remain calm. As Drew removes Tobias's blindfold, his eyes briefly meet mine, and for a brief moment in time, I see concern fill them. Drew ties Tobias to a chair, next to Caleb, across the room from me. Tobias doesn't fight against Drew as he ties the ropes against his wrists. "Tris, I stole Eaton out of the hospital, right out from under everyone's noses," Peter says, happily, clapping his hands together.

"Are you crazy? He just had major surgery. He is less than six hours out of said major surgery. He should be resting!" I scream at Peter. Tobias doesn't bother looking in my direction, his eyes stay locked on the floor.

"Oh, and he will. Once I kill him. But, don't worry, I'll make you watch. You know, it really was too easy to get to him. I stole one of his uniforms, wore blue contacts, changed my hair color. All those stupid people thought that I was Captain Eaton, himself when I walked into the hospital and stole him. They even saluted me," As Peter continues to talk, I work, trying to get my knots undone. I need to save Tobias and Caleb. I don't care if Peter kills me, all I know is, that I need to save them both from his craziness. I get one knot undone, then another undone before Peter says, "So Tris, you ready to confess your sins?"

I pull the ropes from around my wrists, waist, and say, "No!" As I take off into the house. I run into the house, into the bedroom, throw the door close, and lock it as I stand on the bed looking for the gun that Tobias once told me about. A bullet comes flying through the door, ricocheting off the window, sending glass everywhere.

"Tris, I'm giving you until the count of three. If you aren't out here. I will kill one of these two men at random. One! Two! Three!" I strap the gun to my thigh, running out the door, screaming "No!" as Peter pulls the trigger, saying "Too late," as he shoots Caleb in the chest.

"Caleb!" I scream as his head hits his chest. Blood pools onto the cement floor under Caleb's body. "You monster!" I scream as I run to Caleb attempting to save my brother from bleeding to death.

"I am so glad, you finally see me for what I really am. Drew, tie her back up."

"Tris." Tobias groans and that is when I notice his white t-shirt has a spot of blood that is getting larger and larger by the second.

"Tobias, stay with me. Don't die on me. Don't leave me again. You told me you would never leave me." I whisper to him.

He smiles at me slightly. "I feel so dizzy."

"I know. Your blood pressure is probably low. Tell me did they glue your incision line, staple it, or stitch it."

"Umm. I'm not sure. They haven't even changed the first bandage yet since surgery. Listen, Tris, I need to tell you something."

"What are you two going on about over there?"

"Peter, Four is bleeding, let me help him, please. He doesn't deserve to die. If you let me help him then I will go with you. Please just let me help him."

"No!" He screams as Drew drags me further away from Tobias's pale body. "Now, you listen to me. You are mine. No one else's! I won't allow it! I won't allow you to touch him!" He holds the gun up to Tobias's head as he yells "I love you, Tris. None of this would have happened if you had behaved, did as you were told, and stayed with me."

Tears sting my eyes as I see the blood spot get larger on his shirt. "I'm sorry Peter. Please don't hurt him."

"Good! Now was that so hard?" He asks as he takes the gun away from Tobias's head, and hits him in the back of the head with the butt of the gun. "Secret time, Tris. I have had enough with your stalling."

"Did you kiss Eaton?"

"Yes," I whisper, looking at the floor, refusing to meet his eyes. This time when the sting of Peter's slap on my cheek registers, I don't feel anything, all I feel is numbness inside.

"Did you like it? Who was a better kisser?" Peter doesn't wait for my answer as he turns to Tobias, hitting him in the stomach with the barrel of the gun as I scream, "No!" Tobias groans, the blood spot, growing on his white t-shirt.

"My turn for a secret, Eaton would you care to do the pleasure?" When Tobias doesn't reply to him, he smirks, "Fine, be my guest. Shortly, after Eaton was rescued and brought to the hospital, he saw me in his room dressed as him, hiding behind his curtain with a gun. He figured out my plan. You see, I was going to kidnap you while you were in his room, but the bastard kicked you out of his room, told you he never wanted to see you again, and you actually believed him before I could get to you. After you hit your head, I went to pick you up, but he called a nurse and told her, he wasn't feeling well."

"That is how I was found in the hospital," I murmur as I look at Tobias, who refuses to meet my eyes. "How did you find the house?" I ask Peter.

"I followed you one day with this pathetic excuse for a human being when you were out walking, and then another night after I slipped past a sleeping guard, I followed you to make sure this is where you actually lived. The night that I broke in, I was hoping you would be home alone, but you weren't home at all. I had to come up with another plan for another time."

"What?!"

"Yes, then tonight, I decided I would try my luck again. The gods were on my side. You wanna know why, Tris? You left the front door unlocked when I tried it. That is how I got Eaton's uniform. You left it lying out on the bed with everything for me, waiting to take. Now, that I have spilled, next question: Did you two sleep together?"

I remain silent, not wanting to play this game any longer. If I hadn't been so stupid to leave the door unlocked, Tobias would still be safely in the hospital.

"I'll take your silence as an admission of guilt. Eaton any words to add? Would you like to refute her statement or agree with her lack of statement?" Peter doesn't even give Tobias a chance to speak. Instead, Peter hits Tobias in the jaw. When Peter's fist pulls away from Tobias's mouth, blood spills from Tobias's split lip, Peter punches Tobias again, a sickening crunch of nasal bones breaking can be heard throughout the room as blood pours out of his nose.

My stomach turns at all of Tobias's blood, tie-dying his shirt. "Stop Peter! Please!" I scream, as he turns to me he shakes out his hand, an evil smile on his face, he grips me by the shoulders hard, shakes me slightly, and then he knees me in the stomach. I can't breathe as I lose my breath.

"You slept with him; when you have only known him for how long? When it took you months, years to give it up to me! Why? You really are easy now. Aren't you, Tris?"

"No, you are cruel, Peter. You are sick." I wheeze.

"Never mind, it's my turn for a secret." He says with glee in his eyes while he smiles a sadistic smile. "I sabotaged Eaton's plane to make it go down. I told you it would crash. No one listened. I tried to kill him." He turns to look at Tobias as he says "You're like a bad penny. Aren't you? You keep turning up! How the hell did you survive that crash? You should have died! I rigged that plane to explode over the damn Pacific Ocean! It should have exploded while you were in flight or taking off before you could have ejected! Now tell me?"

He turns the gun to Tobias's head, unlocking the safety. "Tell me or I will shoot you faster than you can say Hi."

"Then do it!" Tobias says weakly. "Kill me, but don't hurt Tris anymore. You have already done more than enough to her. I don't know anything about the damn plane. I don't know why it didn't kill me. Maybe you failed." I can see Peter wanting to squeeze the trigger as I scream, "Please Peter! Don't hurt him."

"Fine!" He says pulling the gun away from Tobias's head. "But, that's only because I'm not done with him yet. Now onto my last secret for you Tris, but first, I want to know, do you actually love him? How could you love him when you could have someone like me?" Peter pulls back his fist and goes to hit Tobias in the temple, knowing how hard Peter hits he would kill Tobias instantly.

"Stop! Please, Peter!" I cry as tears stream down my face. "I'll take that as a confession of a yes. Tris, you don't get to have anyone in this life. Only me!" Peter moves his hand and instead hit Tobias in the face again, giving him a black eye instantly, then hits him in the stomach once again.

"Stop." I whisper, "Please."

"What about you Eaton, are you in love with my girlfriend?" Tobias says nothing, looking at the ground with hard eyes, I try to catch his eyes, but his eyes never move.

"Suit yourself, but your silence confirms what we both already know." Peter laughs as he continues saying "Now, my very last secret before I kill your boyfriend in front of you, and put him out of his misery. Don't worry though, you will be next to die after Eaton, but you get to die a painful death to make up for all your sins. I was apart of killing all those people, all those months ago that you saw on the news. Also, I killed your parents, Tris." He laughs as he says the last part.

"What?" I ask, confused.

"You heard me. You know, I am part of the mob. When I was sixteen, I wanted to join really badly, my grandfather told me how initiation worked. To be initiated into the mob I needed to kill two people. Your parents were easy targets walking home from church. I followed them for weeks every Sunday until I got the nerve up to actually kill them. I even saw you on the steps of your house, waiting for their return the day that I murdered them. Your house was really nice. The day that I killed your patents, your father tried to get me to spare your mother's life. He talked about his children; Beatrice and Caleb. I made him think that I was thinking of letting him and your mother go. He handed over his watch and your mother's wedding band set as a bargaining chip for their release. I thought about it for a minute but decided against it. Instead of shooting your mother first like I wanted to, I let my men have their way with her first while your father watched, helpless, then I killed her. I shot your father shortly after your mother. I held onto the wedding set, I was going to use it to propose to you. I thought it would be a touching gesture. For months, I watch you and Caleb struggle on the streets after their deaths before I decided I would run into you that fateful day, and shall we say the rest is history."

I am beyond angry by the time Peter is done talking. He ruined, destroyed my life. I gave up my chances to be with Sam in high school because I was stupid enough to believe that he saved me from the streets, that he deserved a chance with me. My fingers feel calm, certain as I push the ropes off of me. My whole body shakes from the anger as I stand, pull my dress up, pull the gun off of my thigh, and rush Peter, knocking him to the ground. I grab a hold of his hair and bash his head into the cement ground, then hold the gun to his head as I yell, "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't shoot you, Peter!"

His eyes shoot towards Tobias as he smiles wickedly saying "Time's up. You can shoot me if you want, but your lover boy dies either way. Make your choice, Tris. I win in the end either way. You end up alone!" He smirks at me.

I pull the trigger of the gun as Peter's body goes limp below mine as I jump off him, pointing the gun at Drew, who is standing with Tobias, holding a gun to his temple. Determination fills me as I look at Tobias, the one person who I have left in this world, the only person that I can't allow Peter to steal from me. "Put the gun down Drew, and I will let you go!" I scream.

"I can't. I had my orders before we started this." He screams at me as Drew calmly says to Tobias "Pick up that gun off the floor, and point it at her." When Tobias doesn't move, Drew presses the gun harder into Tobias's temple, turning off the safety. "Come on Eaton. Do as you are told. For once!"

"It's okay Tobias," I whisper to him, but his eyes won't meet mine. He reaches down to pick up the gun, pointing the gun at me. We all stand there with guns pointed at each other, mine pointed at Drew, Drew's barrel pressed into Tobias's temple, and Tobias's gun trained on me half-heartedly. I continue to try to make eye contact with Tobias, but he just keeps staring at the floor, the blood stain on his shirt getting larger by the minute, slowly his eyes meet mine, then his eyes dart back to the floor.

"Drew, let Tobias go. This is between me and you."

"I can't. Four, he is my ticket off of this base. I'm a wanted man without him."

"Look at him. Do you really think he is going anywhere?"

"Tris, I don't feel. . ." Suddenly Tobias falls to the ground. Drew pulls the trigger of his gun as I pull mine and miss him "Shit!"I shout as I drop to the floor, trying to avoid the bullet. Drew darts out the door as I fall to the ground next to Tobias's unconscious body.

 **Thoughts? Opinions? Can't wait to hear them! As always please review this chapter and let me know what you thought. Next chapter will be up on the weekend of May 11, although it will most likely be up on Sunday instead on Saturday of that weekend.**


	28. Chapter 27 Hold On

**Hey, readers here is the next chapter in the story. I hope you all enjoy it. As always, I don't own Divergent and all military-related mistakes are mine. Happy Reading!**

 **Chapter 27 Hold On**

"Tobias!" I scream, "Tobias!" I yell again, shaking him desperately, trying to wake him. _Nothing._ No movement from him at all. My eyes burn as I feel a sting in my left upper arm. "Tobias, please, wake up!" I sob as I rock his pale, cool body back and forth. His eyes slowly open, his dark blue eyes, heavy looking and tired meet mine. He attempts to get up from laying on the floor as I say "Don't get up!" I push him gently back into laying position, I continue, "Let me call someone to help us. I know Stephen has to still be up."

"Tris, I feel so weak and tired. I feel so cold." He says weakly as I begin to panic. In my mind, I struggle to maintain my nursing side of my brain, and not see my boyfriend laying in front of me, fighting to maintain his consciousness. I quickly check his pulse, it is fast, not normal, and thready. I pull his bloodstained shirt up, the bandage is saturated with blood. I rip it off quickly, to find half of his stitches ripped open from Peter's brutality with blood gushing out of the open wound. Without thinking, I rip the bottom of my dress, grab the bottle of water from the workbench, saturate the ripped fabric, and pack his wound with the fabric of the dress to try to stop the bleeding. "Stay with me, Tobias!" I plead, tears rushing to my eyes, as I put pressure on the wound, my eyes searching for my cellphone. When I can't find it with my eyes, I grab his hand from next to me, and say "Hold this tightly, that is an order, Tobias!" He smiles slightly at me as I run, trying to find my cellphone. _I can't find it anywhere._ " Talk to me, Tobias!" I command him, as I run around the house, looking for my cell. _It's gone._ _Someone must have taken it._ Giving up, hoping that Stephen heard the gunshots, I run back to the scene of the crime as I snap at Tobias again, "Stay with me!"

"Mmm. Trying." He whispers, a slight smile tugs at his lips as I kneel next to him, his eyes meeting mine, then his eyes shut, his head falls back onto the cement floor losing consciousness again. My heart leaps into my throat as I check his neck for a pulse. _There is none._ "Tobias! Tobias!" I scream, trying to wake him, but he doesn't move or wake up as I begin to pound on his chest, trying to get his heart beating again. "Damn you! You do not get to die on me! Do you hear me! I love you! You don't get to give up! Not after everything we have been through tonight! You need to hold on!" I scream at him as I continue to pound on his chest using my body for leverage to pump his heart for him. Warm blood trickles down my arm from the bullet wound from Drew's gun, I ignore it, only thinking about Tobias's wellbeing at the moment. Tears swam in my eyes as I try to hold myself together, trying to keep his heart beating. My arms hurt from the exertion of pounding on his chest, my lungs fill rapidly with air from the effort, and my mind numbs as I continue to work like a well-oiled machine, trying to keep Tobias alive. My arms tremble with every motion I make, and I feel on the verge of collapse. The only thing pushing me is Tobias's lifeless body, hanging in the balance between life and death, and I'm the only one keeping him from dying.

"I'm sorry, Tobias," I whisper, crying as my arms give out, and I fall on top of him, out of breath, out of strength for a second. Suddenly I hear, "Tris!" yelled into the house. I know that voice, _Stephen!_ Stephen quickly finds me attempting to resuscitate Tobias. Stephen jumps in as my arms give out again. Stephen and I work smoothly together, working to keep Tobias from the brink of death as I ask, "Do you have your cell on you? I can't find mine anywhere."

"I already called an ambulance. I called them as soon as I heard the gunshots."

"What is taking them so long?" I snap at him.

"It hasn't been that long, Tris. It has maybe only been a minute or two, tops." Stephen says out of breath, his voice steady, calm as he stops, and I give two breaths into Tobias's mouth. After what feels like a million years, the paramedics arrive and take over for us. They use a defibrillator, a machine that delivers an electrical shock to the heart, and Tobias gets his pulse back, much to my relief.

Stephen asks if I want him to go to the hospital with us, but I shake my head no. He has already done more than he knows for me tonight, and Mattie is at home waiting for him. I can't ask him to leave his daughter alone, to come to sit with me in the hospital.

Once Tobias and I get to the hospital, it is a flurry of activity. Tobias is rushed to surgery, given emergency blood and fluids. I sit in the waiting room with Tobias's blood still covering my hands and dress. Blood drips down my arm from the bullet nicking my arm. The hard truth hits me that he almost died because of me. I need to let him go, but I'm too selfish too. I want to curse out this hospital for not keeping a better eye on Tobias, and for letting Peter take off with Tobias in the first place. Doctors continue to come out and give updates to other families, but no one comes out to see me. My heart sinks with every passing minute, wondering if the next doctor that exits the door will be to see me, to deliver bad news to me about Tobias. The pixie haircut nurse sees me, sitting with blood covering my arms and hands. She walks over to me, and shyly says, "Tris, come with me. We will get you cleaned up." My eyes move to the OR door, and she whispers, "He is still in surgery. He is still alive and fighting, thanks to you and your quick thinking." She holds her hand out to me as I grab ahold of it, tears in my eyes, and follow her through a twisting hallway into a busy ER.

"Go sit in that room." She says, pointing to a room in the corner. I follow her instructions. She returns quickly with a pair of scrubs and another doctor to look at my arm. The doctor is quiet as he sutures my arm, I ask the question that has been plaguing my mind since I have come back to this hospital, "How did anyone not know that Four was missing? How did you all not notice that the person who was walking around as Four looked really good considering he just had surgery a few hours ago?"

"It's not as simple as that, Tris."

"Explain, because as I see it. You didn't pay close enough attention to Four and let a crazy man walk out of here with him?"

"Four signed himself out of the hospital, and he said he was having someone come pick him up to take him to get better care."

"Can I see the papers that Four signed?" I ask, my heart dropping wondering if Peter made Tobias sign himself out of the hospital.

"Sure, give me a little bit to dig up the papers." She smiles at me as she pulls the door closed, leaving me with a basin of warm water, soap, and a washcloth. As I pull the ruined dress off my body, my mind flits to Chris. _She is going to kill me for ruining her dress._ The blood and the water mix in the basin creating designs, my mind turning over what the nurse told me about what Tobias did. I keep coming back to the same question, _why?_ As I am putting on the light blue scrub shirt, a knock sounds on the outside of the door. "Come in." I snap, wondering who it is.

The nurse returns with papers in hand, "Here," she says as she hands me a stack of paperwork that Tobias signed when he signed himself out against medical advice. My eyes go directly to the signature line. It looks like his signature, but it looks rushed. I feel frustrated as I look at these papers. I crinkle his signature paper into my hand as I walk back out into the waiting room for the OR. I continue to stare at his signature for the next six hours, trying to puzzle out his motive behind doing this.

My eyes bounce between the signature sheet and the clock, wanting to know his rationale behind his actions. If he had stayed in the hospital, Peter wouldn't have gotten to him so easily. He wouldn't be on a surgical table fighting for his life.

As I am tugging at my hair, I hear, "Tris?" Come from a tired looking surgeon.

"Here," I say as I jump out of the chair, knocking it over. Relief and fear mix in my chest.

"Can you come with me please." Her voice gives nothing away about Tobias's condition; if he is alive or not. I get up for the first time in over six hours since sitting down from cleaning up in the ER, only to realize that I am still holding onto the ruined, bloody dress that Christina sent me.

"Tobias?" I ask my voice breaking, my hands flying out to touch her elbow before we go any further down the hallway. Tears burn my eyes as I blink to try to keep them contained.

"Captain Eaton is okay. For a while, it was touch and go in there. He lost a lot of blood. His blood pressure dropped while in surgery due to internal bleeding, and he almost coded once again, but we got him back. His liver required extensive repair due to the trauma. His liver laceration went from a three to a four. More of his liver was involved with the laceration than originally and it went deep. His spleen had to be removed as well. The next few hours will be the most critical. We will be watching his vitals carefully for the next several hours, and someone will be in to draw labs every six hours. I placed a drain to help remove the extra blood from his abdomen, which should be removed in a couple of days, depending on the amount it puts out. Barring any complications, he should be able to go home in about a week or so." She says smiling at me. "With all things considering, Captain Eaton is lucky to be alive. He is lucky that you were there with him, and that you thought quickly like you did, to pack his wound. Otherwise, we might be having a very different conversation." As the doctor is turning back around to leave, I ask, "Wait?"

"Yeah."

"Can he still fly?"

"Of course, but he won't be going up in a plane for quite some time." She smiles at me. "Do you want to see him?"

"Yes!" As we are walking down a long sterile looking corridor, she says, "He will be sleeping for a few more hours from the surgery, but feel free to talk to him. He can hear you."

"Thank you so much for everything that you have done, for saving him," I whisper to her as she leaves me standing in front of a room with a glass door that reads Intensive Care Unit room number ten.

 **Thoughts? Opinions? And you all thoughts that I was going to kill Tobias off. He is safe for now. Oh, you all have such little faith in me...lol.. Please review and let me know what you thought about this last chapter. What do you think is going to happen when Tobias finally wakes up? Next chapter will be up on the weekend of May 25.**


	29. Chapter 28 Slow Motion

**Hello, readers, I hope you all enjoy this extra long chapter. Once again, I don't own Divergent and all military-related mistakes are mine. Thank you to everyone who continues to read and comment on this story. Also, there is a surprise in this chapter, can't wait to hear your comments. To my guest who commented, don't worry your questions will be answered in this chapter. This chapter is rated M for some sensitive topics that are discussed. Happy Reading!**

 **Chapter 28 Slow Motion**

I move to slowly open the door, but a voice stops me, "Miss Prior, can I talk to you?" The woman, whom I don't recognize, asks, looks directly at me. She speaks to me as though her statement isn't a question, but a command. I gently slide the glass door back into place. My heart beats quickly. _Tobias! I was so close to making sure that he was really alive with my own eyes._

"Yes," I answer slowly, my voice unsure.

"You are Tris Prior, right?" The woman stares down at me. Her heels tap on the hospital floor impatiently, as she waits for my answer as if my answer will solve an unknown puzzle.

"Yes, why?"

"Are you sister to Caleb Prior?" _Caleb!_ My stomach drops, thinking about Caleb. My mind quickly snaps back to that moment in the garage, yelling at Peter, hearing the gunshot, watching the color drain from Caleb's face, watching the blood trickle out of Caleb's chest onto the cement floor. My stomach hurts. Caleb! I had been so focused on Tobias, I had completely forgotten about my brother. He is the only reason that I am where I am today. He is one of the reasons that I made it off the streets alive. I feel like a knife is stabbing into my gut as I think about not being able to save Caleb's life from Peter as I answer, "Yes," my voice wavers as I stare at the woman with dark hair and dark brown eyes.

"Tris, I have been trying to call you for hours on your cellphone, but you haven't been answering it."

"My cellphone disappeared. I have no idea where it went to, why? How do you know my name?"

"I'm sorry, but my name is Cara. I'm Caleb's girlfriend." The name Cara rings a bell as I ask, "Wait, the one who works at the FBI with him."

She laughs as she says, "I don't actually work at the FBI with Caleb. I work in the government, but not for the FBI. When I first met Caleb, I was meeting with a colleague on a project. My colleague told me, I could leave all of my junk on Caleb's desk, little did I know he was trying to set me up with Caleb." She smiles. "After our first date, I knew we had a connection that I couldn't resist any longer. I knew he was someone special, and I wanted to know more about him. We spent every waking moment together those first weeks, so when he told me, he was coming to California, and he didn't want me to come with him, only that his sister needed him. I found it odd. I dropped everything and followed him with only gut instinct to follow."

My stomach drops are I listen to her talk of Caleb dropping everything to come to my rescue, the rescue that I didn't need, of hearing her talk of how she dropped everything to follow him on gut instinct because she felt something wasn't right. _How am I going to break the news to Cara about Caleb's death?_ My mouth feels sticky as I begin to say, "Cara, we need to talk about Caleb."

"Yes, we do Tris. You need to come with me." She says as she takes my hand, leading me down a set of different hallways. Cara stops in front of another set of doors reading room number 25, ICU. She turns to me with tears in her eyes as she says, "Caleb is alive, Tris."

"How? I saw all the blood. I saw the color drain from his face."

"He was wearing a bulletproof vest. I borrowed it from my partner at work before I left the agency that I work for. Well, I stole it without asking, but I have every intention of giving it back. However, the issue is. . . the vest wasn't properly on your brother's body. My partner is taller than Caleb. The gunshot from Peter's gun hit Caleb in the upper chest. That wasn't enough to kill him. Caleb's lungs aren't as developed as an adult male's lungs are supposed to be, and his lungs are slightly misaligned. Otherwise, his lungs would have been punctured by the bullet, and he would have died."

"No wonder he always had issues running and swimming when we were kids. That explains a lot. Is he going to be okay?" I ask, not believing that my brother is really alive.

"Yes, he got out from surgery several hours ago. I started trying to call you while he was in surgery. During surgery, the doctors tell me, that fragments of the bullet were removed from his chest cavity. Part of one was inching its way very close to his lung. His lung cavity started to fill with blood, according to the doctor. A drain was placed into his chest to get rid of the extra blood to help his lungs inflate all the way." She smiles at me as she grips my hand with hers tightly. "Do you want to see him?"

"I would love to, but wait, how did you both get here?"

"I called the cops and an ambulance as soon as I heard the gunshots happen in the house. Caleb was wearing a body camera."

"Why was he wearing a body camera?"

"I borrowed that from work as well. I was worried about Caleb's odd behavior when it came to you. I was worried that you were in trouble, or he was in trouble, something like that. I got one of Caleb's colleagues to hack into his email. I found his hotel confirmation, and I showed up there. I got him to agree, after much argument, to let me drive him to Four house. I dropped him off down the road. He wore a body camera because I had a bad feeling, and he wanted to make me feel better. I watched everything unfold on my cellphone. It is all recorded on there. If Peter isn't dead, he is going to jail for a long time, after his confessions that he made in that room tonight." Tears burn my eyes as I wrap my arms around Cara as I whisper, "Thank you. Thank you for everything."

"It's nothing." She smirks as she opens the sliding glass door to Caleb's bright room. Caleb smiles at Cara as she moves to hug him. He kisses her on the cheek as he says, "Did you fill Tris in on everything?"

"I think I did." Her cheeks redden as she moves to sit in the chair next to the bed. He opens his arms to me, and I run into them instantly, crying like a child. "Caleb, thank goodness you are alright! I thought you had died. Don't ever do something stupid like that again!" I chastise him.

"I can't promise anything, especially when it comes to you or Cara, I always want to protect you because that is what brothers are supposed to do, but I will try, Tris. I really need to meet this Four guy, who caused this whole mess in the first place."

"Caleb, you should have known better. You should have known that I wasn't cutting, that I wouldn't try to commit suicide ever again, after what happened last time."

"Like, I said before, we were speaking regularly, then suddenly you just stopped talking to me, and you weren't returning my phone calls. How am I supposed to know what is going on in your mind?"

"Why are you assuming the worst in me? I haven't cut since Mom and Dad died. I had a lot going on. Four disappear for several days, his plane crashed, and I wanted to be left alone."

"You should have called me. I would have been on the first flight out here to be with you, to support you through the tough time."

"But, I'm not your responsibility anymore, I'm not a child," I say as I cross my arms over my chest.

"I know that you aren't a child any longer Tris, you will always be my responsibility, though, no matter how old you get. I will always be your big brother." He whispers as he stares at me. He smirks, "Now tell me all about this guy Four, who I am hoping was putting on a show in front of Peter because if not, then I'm not sure how I feel about you and him being together."

Caleb and I talk for what feels like hours about Four and about our childhood before our parents died. I tell him everything about Four, everything that I know. I tell him about how Four took me up on a plane flying, how much I like being around Four, and how he makes me feel. By the end of the conversation, my cheeks hurt from smiling and laughing from re-living happy memories with Caleb. When my eyes float to the clock, and I realize that I have been talking with Caleb and Cara for almost two hours my chest begins to ache as I wonder if Tobias is alright? _If he is awake yet? And if he is awake, does he know where he is or is he scared without me next to him?_ Caleb catches my frown as he asks, "Tris, have you seen Four yet since he has been out of surgery?"

"No, I got to her before she went into his room," Cara says.

"Then what are you doing here, still talking to Cara and me? Go see him." Caleb says, effectively pushing me out the door with his voice. I quickly walk out of the room to find Tobias's room once again.

My fingers shake as I touch the glass room door. Once again I hear a voice call out, "Miss Prior, I need to talk to you about what happened last night." Anger laces through my body. _I just want to see Tobias and make sure he is alright._ I turn to find a young woman dressed in a camouflage uniform. Close my eyes, I let out a breath, I ask, "Can't this wait, I want to make sure Tobias is alive."

"I'm sorry, but it can't. I have been waiting here for you since shortly after Captain Eaton got out of surgery. I tried calling your cellphone to get you to come in for questioning. I know you went through some terrible things, but the longer you wait to give your statement; the more details may disappear from your mind. The more details of the night might become fuzzy to you."

"I don't think I could ever forget what happened last night if I tried," I mutter sarcastically at her.

She says, "I'll try to make this quick. Now please come with me." The young woman leads me away from Tobias's room into another room with another woman. They both motion for me to have a seat, turn on a tape recorder and begin to ask me question after question. I try to answer them the best I can, but the whole time my mind is on Tobias. After half an hour of questioning, the two women seem happy with my answers, and they release me.

I run to Tobias's room, and stand outside the door, wondering what my next interruption will be that will keep me from him. _Anger. Frustration. Nervousness. Happiness. Excitement._ I feel everything as my fingers touch the door handle. I slowly open the door afraid to wake Tobias, who is asleep still from the surgery. He is attached to a heart monitor, oxygen tubing, IVs, and a pain pump. He still has a splint and a boot on. He looks even more black and blue than the last time that I saw him. I rub his head as I take a seat next to him, and break down crying for the first time, numbness takes over my emotions as I take in his broken body. I pull his signed paper from the scrub top looking at his rushed signature, once again. "Why, Tobias, why did you sign yourself out and go with Peter?" I cry, my mind spiraling with all the possibilities as I rest my head next to his hand that has the IVs in them as I close my eyes, drifting off to sleep with tears stinging my eyes. I wake to fingers moving my hair. "Tris?" The hoarse voice asks sounding scared.

My eyes shoot up to meet Tobias's, which are almost swollen shut, his chest is rising rapidly. "Yeah. It's me. We are safe. You are safe. Don't worry Peter is gone. I think he is dead. He can't hurt you ever again." I say, trying to reassure him. He squeezes my fingers as I ask, "Why did you sign yourself out of the hospital after you just had surgery? Are you stupid?"

Tobias grimnesses as he says, "I didn't want to, Tris. I knew if I survived you would be angry at me, but I did it to protect you."

"Protect me, how?"

"Peter, when he showed up here, dressed up like me, in my clothing with my last name on his jacket. I began to panic, wondering what the hell he was planning, and what happened to you. He handed me my jacket to wear, to sign out in. While we were walking down the hallway, Peter made a stop into the hospital locker room, and he broke into a locker. He stole another jacket to finish the uniform look from someone else. Once we were inside a car, that he stole, I shrugged off my jacket. I didn't want to get blood on it."

"Hold on, how did he get you to sign out?" I ask, frustration lacing my voice.

"He told me he had you as a hostage. He told me he was going to kill you. He told me; the only way to save you was to give myself to him in exchange for your life. I was willing to do that. I immediately called the nurse without a second thought and signed myself out against medical advice while Peter hid in the bathroom. I was willing to do anything to save your life even if it meant me dying in the process." I lose my breath. I want to yell at him, to scream at him, to tell him that he was stupid for even doing such a thing, but then again; this is Tobias. He has metals he earned in battles for his heroic actions, his decision to save me must have been nothing compared to whatever he did in those battles that earned him those metals.

"How did Peter get onto base?"

"I don't know. He said something about having friends on the inside." Tobias whispers, shrugging his shoulders. I sigh realizing we will never know the answer to our question. Peter is dead.

He blinks, whispering, "You saved us. You saved me. Thank you, Tris. I will forever be grateful." His voice breaks as he croaks, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for what I said before when I was first rescued and you came to the hospital. I didn't mean it at all. I didn't mean those horrible things that I said to you. I felt betrayed, and I was left for dead. The rest of the world continued on without me. I don't want you to leave. I always want you to be around. I was trying to protect you from Peter, and I was hurt that you would go to the ball with Stephen when I was missing."

"Tobias," I whisper, "I was miserable without you. I have never felt such pain in my life as the day that those men came knocking on the door, telling me that you were missing. You have no idea how hard my life was knowing, you were out there missing, most likely hurt, and that there was nothing I could do about it. I dreamt about your crashing plane nightly. Everyone told me to start moving on, but I didn't want to. Stephen was trying to be nice. He wanted to get my mind off everything that was happening."

"It's just hard, knowing that you were trying to live your life, and I wasn't here with you. I wanted to be here living life with you during those days. Not stuck on a stupid island. I would never leave you purposely, remember that, always." He whispers, his eyes not meeting mine.

I smile saying, "I know. Rest, you need it. I'll be here when you wake up. You have been through hell and back today. We both have."

As his eyes close again, I kiss his stubbly cheek. A few hours later, the two women who interviewed me, knock on the door of Tobias's room, waking him.

"Tris, we need you to step outside of the room, please. We need to ask Captain Eaton some questions about what happened last night." I groan as Tobias whispers, "It's fine." I bounce on my toes the whole time that the two women are in the room with him. To try to calm my nerves, I walk to the cafe to find some ice cream for Tobias. When I return to the room, with Tobias's favorite ice cream, he makes a sarcastic remark. Tobias's mood seems to have shifted, and not for the better either. He seems unhappy and angry at the world. When I attempt to pry, he shuts me down, tells me he is tired, and he turns over in the opposite direction of me, leaving me to eat the cup of ice cream by myself.

The next few days, Tobias's vitals stay stable. He sleeps on and off as his body recovers from the trauma of Peter and the plane crash. I visit Caleb every day for a short time, checking up on him, but most of my time is spent with Tobias, keeping an eye on him. Zeke visits every day for a short time, every day telling Tobias he looks like hell, their banter is playful. One day, Zeke walks in instead of rolling in, in his wheelchair. Tobias smirks at him as Zeke says, "I get to bust out of here finally! You, on the other hand, still look like shit! Is there anything I can get for you?"

"No." I sigh contently, sitting on the bed with Tobias, not wanting to take my eyes off of him as Tobias says, "Actually, can you grab my truck from the airfield for Tris to use. The keys should still be in my locker."

"Sure thing, Four. Oh, Tris, you can stay with me and Shauna instead of going back to the house." He smiles as he walks out of the room.

"Did you tell him that I haven't been back to the house?"

"No, I'm pretty sure those beautiful blue hospital scrubs that the nurses bring in daily to you did," Tobias smirks at me as I swat his arm.

Tobias and I talk, but we avoid the topic of what happened at the house. Max visits Tobias and talks about how the Air Force found the missing plane days before the Coast Guard found Zeke and him, and how the men searched some of the surrounding land and sea, but Four and Zeke were nowhere to be found. He tells Four about how there were plans to retrieve the plane for later that week. I notice Tobias's mood change dramatically after Max's visit. He seems emotionless the whole time that Max is talking. After Max leaves, I whisper, gripping his hand "You okay?"

"I'm fine. Wonderful in fact." Tobias snaps as I move off the bed from him, leaving him to deal with his mood swing once again as he whispers, "I'm sorry, Tris. I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm sorry. I still feel awful for telling you everything that I did that night in the hospital. I feel awful for not being able to protect you from Peter as I should have. Then, Max, he pisses me off. If it wasn't for the Coast Guard, Zeke and I would still be on that island."

"It's fine, Tobias. You have the right to be hurt and angry, but it is in the past now. Maybe you should talk to someone," I suggest as he shakes his head at me. "I can't. I will look weak to everyone if I ask for help. I only need you." He says as he pulls me into a hug. Every night, as I listen to Tobias's steady breathing next to me in the hospital bed, I thank God that he is still here, alive, sleeping next to me.

I finally mount the courage to formally introduce Caleb and Tobias to each other in the hospital. Both of them look awkward in their PJs as they attempt to size each other up. Caleb from his wheelchair. Tobias from his hospital bed. Cara giggles from behind Caleb, whispering, "Be nice," as Caleb narrows his eyes at her for a second then says, "Nice to meet you, Four."

"Nice to meet you, Caleb."

Our conversation is short, but Caleb and Tobias seem to get along okay. I let out a breath that I didn't realize that I was holding as Cara rolls Caleb out of the room, Tobias breaths, "I don't think your brother likes me very much."

"He will come around. He is just very protective of me and suspicious of your actions in the garage. I tried to explain, but I guess you will need to prove yourself to him." I giggle as Tobias smirks at me as he pulls me into a hug, and kisses my forehead, whispering, "Well, that is good to know. I'm always up for a challenge."

When Caleb visits another time, he seems more trusting of Tobias, but this time when Caleb does visit, he comes walking in. He shakes Tobias's hand, tells him, he passed his background check. Tobias raises an eyebrow at me as I shrug my shoulders. Caleb has a smile on his lips as he announces his departure from California back to Washington D.C. As he is leaving the room, he says, "Tris, if you ever need anything, call me and let me know. I will be out here as soon as I can. I guess I give my brotherly blessing to whatever this is."

"Thanks, I guess. Although, I didn't ask for your permission. Don't worry Caleb, I will call you if I need anything. Don't come running here if you don't hear it from me, first, okay?"

"Deal." He smirks at me as he hugs me goodbye, and I hug Cara goodbye as well, and they walk out the door hand-in-hand.

"I like them together. They make a good pair." I whisper as Tobias eyes me like he isn't sure what is going on.

By day ten, Tobias is getting cabin fever from being bed bound, he starts pulling rank and gets himself discharged from the hospital before anyone wants to. It is either they discharge him today or he is going to leave against medical advice again, which I am against. Once Tobias is discharged, he reaches for the truck keys, I dangle them away from him. He shoots me a look as he climbs into the driver's seat without the keys.

"Why are you so grumpy?" I ask as he takes off down the road, off the base. He doesn't respond to my question. "Tobias, where are we going?"

"Somewhere no one will know us." He smiles at me as we leave the Air Force Base gate. As we drive, Tobias holds my hand, running his fingers along mine, playing with my fingers, and intertwining them together. He brings my hand up to his mouth, kissing it.

"Give me a clue, Tobias. After everything we have been through, I hate surprises."

He rolls his eyes as he says, "Since when have my surprises ever been bad?" I raise an eyebrow at him as he says, "Okay fine. Miss Prior, we are going to Bodega Bay to walk along the beach for the day, and get lunch at The Tides Restaurant. That's the one from Alfred Hitchcock's movie _The Birds_."

"I've always wanted to see that restaurant," I say smiling at him.

"Well, today is your lucky day." We pull up to a gray building that reads The Tides Restaurant. It is overcast and windy by the water today. Tobias and I choose to eat inside instead of on the dock. I order a bowl of clam chowder while he orders a Cesar salad. Then for lunch, I have prawns (shrimp) and chips while Tobias has fish and chips. Throughout lunch, I can't help but take in how well his skin is healing, and how his bruises are starting to fade. He plays with my fingers across the table nervously. "I'll be glad when the boot can come off."

"At least your splint came off a few days early. Are you superman with how quickly you heal?" I ask, teasing him gently.

He laughs as he says "No, but the boot needs to come off. Do you know how hard it is to walk in this thing?"

"The doctor said next week." I gently say. He gets quiet, going into his mind as he finishes eating. I pick at the rest of my food, watching the waves move out on the water, a boat rocking back and forth.

"You want some salt water taffy?" He asks as we are walking past a gift shop that has fake crows sitting on a ledge above our heads.

"Sure."

Tobias drives us to a pink and white striped house that reads Patrick's Salt Water Taffy. "This place has the best taffy. There are a ton of different flavors in here," he says grinning at me. "They also have weird flavors like cinnamon, pear, or chili lime if you want to try that."

I make a face at the mention of cinnamon as Tobias smiles at me. When we enter the building, Tobias was right. This place has hundreds of different flavors of taffy. I feel like a kid at heart just being here. Tobias and I decide to try buttered popcorn, cotton candy, and a few other mystery flavors. We take our taffy loot up to Bodega head, and we walk down to the sandy beach. I stick my toes into the cold water. The cool water feels good even with the wind blowing hard against my face. Tobias is quiet again, in his own mind, and I want to ask him what he is thinking about. But, all the doctors said not to push him, that he would talk when he is ready to. We walk up and down the beach along the waterline. When finally, he turns to me and says, "Tris, I've been thinking, and I know it isn't what you are going to want to hear. But, I think you should go live with your friends Christina and Will for a little while."

"What? Why? I just got you back! You told me you would never leave me."

"I think it is for the best, Tris." He says, frustration clear in his voice.

"Tobias, let me be your strength. I can handle both of our weight together. Let me fight for us."

"I'm tired of fighting you and everyone, Tris." He whispers. I want to fight him on the issue. I lose my nerve as I whisper, "Fine Tobias, I will go since clearly, you have a lot on your mind to work through, but answer me one question first."

"What?"

"Do you love me?" I ask him, the one question that has been on my mind since Peter asked me that question during my questioning session. He doesn't answer me, just like he didn't when Peter asked him the same question. He looks down at his feet instead. "Answer me!" I demand.

He takes a deep breath as he says, "I care about you Tris, deeply, more than you could ever know, but I need to figure out my life before we start our life together. Before we figure out a future together if we even have one together." _Ouch! I always thought of a future with Tobias. I didn't know he didn't feel the same way._ I feel wetness gathering in my in eyes as he continues, "I need to figure out if I want to stay in the Air Force. If not, then I need to figure out a way to get out of the military somehow, to get a regular job. Hell, I don't even know if they are even going to let me fly again. If they don't, let me be a pilot again, I am nothing without my wings." He says angrily.

"That's not true!"

"Maybe to you, but the Air Force is all I have ever known. They helped me from going back to an abusive father after college graduation when no one would hire a mechanical engineer with a master's degree with no experience. Flying is all I have ever wanted to do since I signed my name on the dotted line." He glares at the ocean as he throws a rock into the waves.

"Don't push me away. We can face this together. Whatever this is."

"No, we can't, Tris. This is my burden to bear. Not to mention, I want reassignment out of this state. California holds too many crappy memories for me, too many memories of Stacy, with Stacy and our failed relationship."

"What about me? What about our memories? Aren't those good? Why are you dwelling on the past?" I ask.

"Yes, those memories with you are some of my happiest, but Tris, my mental state isn't the best right now." He whispers as I reply, "Tobias, let me help you."

"Just go visit Christina and Will. I'll let you know the plans, and where I get reassigned to. You can come along if you want. I will leave the choice up to you entirely."

"Fine," I grumble. "But, know this. That I'm not happy." I say as I run my fingers along his facial hair.

"I know you aren't happy, but it is what needs to be done." He says, staring at me dead in the eyes with no smile.

"I do have a question though. What did you mean figure out a way to get out of the military somehow?" I ask, confused by his first group of statements.

"In order to become a pilot in the Air Force I needed to sign on for ten years. I'll figure out a way to get a medical discharge if I can't keep my wings. There is no way in hell, I am sitting behind a desk doing paperwork all day. I would kill myself first." He whispers angrily, as he picks up another stone, throwing it into the ocean.

"What?" I ask shocked.

"You heard me." He glances at me, smirking.

"Are you serious? Suicide is nothing to joke about."

"Teasing." He says, shrugging his shoulders, but I don't fully believe him as I glance at him from the corner of my eyes.

 **Thoughts? Comments? What did everyone think about the beginning twist? Who else thinks Tobias is being slightly over dramatic. Can't wait to hear your comments! Next chapter will be up the weekend of June 8th.**


	30. Chapter 29 Strays

**Here is the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy it. I am nervous as these next few chapters when I was writing I poured my heart into them, and they are very emotional. Therefore, I am anxious to hear everyone's opinion after reading this chapter. Thank you to everyone who continues to read and comment on this story, it means so much to me. I don't own Divergent and any military-related mistakes are mine. Happy Reading!**

 **Chapter 29 Strays**

The drive back to the base is awkward. Tobias is silent, knocking his fingers against the steering wheel in a rhythm that can't be heard. He is absorbed in his own world, his mind not focused on reality, but on somewhere far away in the past. I struggle to maintain my calmness as I fight off the tears, I bite my bottom lip to squelch the wetness burning my eyes painfully. As the truck stops at the base gate, his eyes catch mine, for the first time since we started driving, and I can see the sorrow behind them. I try to convey to him a message through my eyes, the message of; _if he is feeling so sorry or sad, then why is he separating us? Why did he send mixed signals to me today by taking me on a date? Why is he acting this way?_

He takes a deep, steady breath, his sad eyes glance at me, as I whisper on the verge of tears, "Are you sending me away because you are breaking up with me?" He stays silent as we pull away from the gate. Then suddenly, his voice breaks the quiet as we approach the driveway, "No, we aren't breaking up. I would never break up with you. I lo-" He stops short as he shakes his head as he continues, "I just need time to process everything that I have been through. I need to make sure you are in a safe place, somewhere out of trouble, somewhere Drew can't get to you while I do that."

"Tobias, we can figure everything that happened out together. We can call a counselor or something, someone, to help you with processing everything you have been through. I'm worried about you, you aren't acting like yourself, let me help you."

He sighs, "Fine, I can't let Peter almost killing me control me, it is all I keep thinking about, I have been close to death several times in my life, but somehow, this time, it was different. Maybe it was because it wasn't only my life that was on the line, either way, I need to figure out a way to overcome this."

"Let me help," I whisper as his eyes meet mine, as he shakes his head, "I'm sorry, but I can't. I need to figure this out for myself. If not only for myself then for you too."

"How are you going to figure it out for yourself, Tobias? You are struggling to cope with everything that happened."

Tobias shrugs his shoulders as he says, "As soon as we make it into the house, I promise, I will call someone, and make an appointment to talk with someone about how I am feeling."

"What about everything you said, about it making you look weak?"

"Screw what anyone thinks." He murmurs as he stares at the house.

My eyes catch the innocent looking house, the one with the porch swing, the one where my life was turned upside down. My belly fills with a million butterflies. Butterflies that drop like lead into my stomach as the realization hits me: this is the first time I'm stepping foot back inside the house again. _I hope I'm strong enough._ I take a shallow breath and take a step as my mind struggles with different notions. The last time I was in here: _all hell broke loose_. A shiver goes down my spine as my mind copes with the idea: _I could have lost two very important people in my life_. I take another small step, my eyes burn as my mind grapples with the concept; _I ended a human life instead of saving it_. The rational side of my brain quarrels: _Peter was a horrible person. I was trying to save Tobias and myself when I pulled the trigger._ The irrational side of my brain argues: Maybe there was another way? Maybe a judge won't see it as self-defense? Chills creep down my spine at the thought of prison. _I would never survive._

A car pulls up to the front of the house before my mind can sink any further into the dark hole that exists or my body go any further. Two women exit the car, the two women that questioned Tobias and I. My heart begins to beat rapidly in my chest as I grab a hold of Tobias's hand for comfort. He squeezes my fingers as he stands next to me as he whispers, "Are you okay? You are shaking." I don't answer him.

He wraps an arm around me securely. The contact is like a soothing balm to my soul. We stay standing where we are, only a few feet from the truck, waiting for the two women. They approach us, smiles on their lips. "Tris and Captain Eaton, how nice to see you again." One of the women says as I stare past them towards the house, my heart beating out of my chest, wondering if this is the end of me. Wondering if they are coming to drag me to jail.

"My partner and I came to inform, you both, the judge today ruled on the incident here, and it has been ruled as self-defense in the case of you shooting Peter, Tris. Your brother's girlfriend, Cara, turned over her cellphone recording from that night to us. That evidence alone helped determine the fate of this case. Tris, you did what was necessary to survive. We also gathered the reports from the hospital, from the doctors that operated on you each time, Captain Eaton. We wanted to let you know that the case has been resolved on our end. We hope that you can find peace after everything that you have had to endure. We are working closely with the local police to find Drew. If he attempts to contact you, let someone here know."

"Thanks," Tobias says, staring impatiently at the two women. The two women leave us without another word. As I look at the house once again, I know that I should feel a sigh of relief, but I don't. All I feel is pain, guilt, and panic. The feelings only get worse; the closer I step to the house. There is still yellow caution tape, blocking the entrance to the house, designating it as a crime scene. Tobias rips the tape down as he steps inside in front of me.

I'm shaking, and I can't breath when I step through the threshold of the house. All I see is blood on the beige carpets still. The blood belonged to Tobias as the paramedics pulled him out the door, trying to save his life as I ran after him frantically. The bedroom doors still have the bullet holes from where Peter tried to shoot me and missed. Bloody handprints mangle the wall from Drew, from where he made his escape from the scene of the crime. The entrance is smeared with blood like a heavy object was dragged away from the scene. I hold little hope that Drew will ever be caught by the local police, Peter's grandfather is the commissioner of the local Police Department. Against my will, I find myself standing in the garage. My eyes are drawn to the distinctly darkened areas on the concrete. The area where Peter collapsed, where I bashed his head against the cement before I killed him. My eyes are drawn to another spot on the concrete, the place where Caleb was almost murdered, thanks to Peter's hand, and where Tobias almost died. The holes in the wall, the colors on the carpeting bring the memories fresh into the forefront of my mind, and the tears that I had been holding in, begin to fall from my eyes. Hands wrap around my waist as Tobias pulls me from the garage, whispering, "Come with me. Don't look in there or anywhere in this place for that matter. Go outside or into the kitchen where there is no blood or any bullet holes."

"I can't Tobias, I can't. Everywhere, I look; I see Peter and hear Peter's voice in this place. He has taken away my safety, once again." I cry as he holds me. He kisses my head as he whispers into my hair, "This is part of the reason why I am pushing you so hard to leave, Tris. I can't watch you fall apart in this house over memories of what happened here. It is bad enough when memories of that night come back crystal clear to me, but you had to watch everything unfold first hand. The worst thing for me about that night; there wasn't a thing I could do about it to protect you from that monster. I was helpless. I have never felt so helpless in my life." I shake my head, knowing Tobias is right, knowing I need to leave here, knowing if I don't leave, this place will destroy me mentally as I ask, "If I leave to go live with Chris and Will for a bit, will you still get help as you promised?"

"I'll think about it." He whispers, "But, only because you keep asking."

"What about you? Where will you stay?"

"I'll stay with Zeke until the walls are repainted, the carpets are replaced, and maybe before that, I will get another base assignment." He answers automatically as my lip quivers and I whisper, "Fine, I will go to visit Chris and Will, but you need to promise me, that you will get the help, that you will do the work." He doesn't respond as he says sadly, squeezing my hand, "Let's go, I'll help you pack your bag, and I'll bring you to the airport. Then, I will call a counselor to make an appointment with this week."

"My suitcase is already packed." He quips an eyebrow at me as I continue, "I thought you were dead, remember. I'd planned on leaving, going to New York to spend time with Christina and Will, but then everything with Peter happened and finding out you were alive. You know, I never left your side while you were in the hospital for fear that a ghost would come back to haunt me. Not to mention, the house was on lockdown as a crime scene."

"Yeah, I guess. Let's get you to the airport then." He says, the agony written across his face, clear as day.

As we drive to the airport, I want to scream at him, and to tell him not to put me on a plane. I want to scream at him that we shouldn't be separated. I want to tell him to come with me; to get away from Travis Air Force Base or let me stay with him at Zeke's, to not rip my heart out of my chest by telling me goodbye. The drive to the airport is quicker than I want. Tears pool in my eyes as I think about being apart from him. The anguished expression hasn't left his face since we got back into the truck. As Tobias and I enter the airport, everything becomes real. He is letting me leave. I am leaving him, and I haven't told him; _I'm in love with him, that I would do anything for him, that I love him more than I have ever loved anyone in this life._ The fear that he doesn't love me enough to fight for me is near the forefront of my mind. I know he is scared to have his heart broken again, but he should want to fight for me. He should want to fight for our relationship. "One ticket to LaGuardia or JFK. It doesn't matter, whichever leaves sooner." He says as we step up to the ticket counter of United Airlines.

"We have a flight to JFK that leaves in one hour, and a flight to LaGuardia that leaves in thirty minutes, both have seats still available."

"We'll take one ticket to LaGuardia," Tobias says placing his credit card on the counter. "Actually, JFK," I say, interrupting both Tobias and the lady behind the counter.

"Okay, JFK it is then." He says eyeing me with interest.

As Tobias and I stand in the massive line for security, I'm ready to burst into tears. "Goodbye, Tris." He says sadly.

"Why, does it feel like you are saying goodbye to me?" I ask, tears starting to crest over my waterline.

"Because, you are getting ready to go through security, to board a plane, one that I'm not going on. Of course, I'm saying goodbye to you."

"Tobias, please don't do this. Don't make me leave you." I plead with him.

"You need to, Tris. We have been over this already at the house. I can't watch you break down every time that you go into that house. It will kill me mentally."

I take a deep breath and drop the bomb that I have been holding onto for weeks. "But, I love you. Don't you want me? Aren't I worth fighting for? Why are you so scared to love me, Tobias? Why are you scared to tell me that you love me? All your actions tell me that you are in love with me. Don't you love me?" I ask, frustration lacing my voice.

Pain is written all over his features as my words hit his ears. "I care about you, Tris." Tobias leans forward, his arm resting against the wall, staring intently into my eyes, he touches my chin with the tips of his fingers drawing me closer to him. Our lips almost touching. "No one understands. . ." He murmurs, his breath fanning over my lips. "They don't understand how big of an effect you have on me."

"What? Then if you feel that way, don't make me leave. I beg you."

He places his fingers over my lips as he stares into my eyes, as he says "But, there is nothing for you here. Now go. Don't make this harder than it needs to be. Because I care for you. I always will, but I need to let you go. It's what is best for you. I'm not good for you. You are free of Peter now. You are free to do whatever it is you want in your life." He kisses me gently then wipes the tears from my cheeks that won't stop flowing from my eyes with his fingers.

"Do you really believe that I am free, and letting me go is what is best for me? Do you really believe that there is nothing for me here? Do you really believe that you are not good for me?"

He remains silent, staring at the ground, seconds later, he says, "It doesn't matter what I believe!"

"Yes, it does, Tobias. If you really believe that there is nothing for me here, that you are no good for me, then maybe we have been wasting each other's time with whatever this is. If you can look me in the eye, and tell me that I'm better off without you, that you don't love me, that you can never love me, then I will get on that plane, and I will leave. I will never look back just like you want. And just for the record, you are one of the very best things that ever happened to me, ever in my life." He stays quiet, saying nothing, not looking at me. When it is my turn to go through security, I say, "Goodbye Tobias. I hope you find whatever it is that you are looking for in this life because it clearly isn't me. I hope you get the help you need." As I walk away from him, I feel my heart shatter for the one man that I have truly ever loved in my life.

 **Thoughts? Opinions? Please review and let me know what you thought of this chapter. Did anyone realize that they hadn't said those three special words to each other yet before reading this chapter? Did you expect Tris to do what she did at the end of the chapter? Also now that she has said all of this to Tobias, what do you think he is going to do? Do you believe he is really going to let her walk away, or do you think he is going to run after her? Next chapter will be up the weekend of June 22.**


	31. Chapter 30 Don't Look Back

**Thank you to everyone who continues to read and comment on this story. I don't own Divergent and all military-related mistakes are mine. Happy Reading!**

 **Chapter 30 Don't Look Back**

 **Tobias POV**

Seeing the agony written across Tris's face as I say goodbye to her, kills me, more than I thought it would. I wish I could think clearly. I want to give my whole self to her, but something inside is holding me back. I yearn to tell her, but I don't even fully understand the effects she has on me, and the feelings I feel, terrify me. She is all I ever think about. She is all I ever dream about. Thoughts of her fogged my mind, when I was supposed to be focusing on flying a billion dollar plane, but, thanks to Peter, Zeke and I, ended up in the situation we did. I wasn't paying close enough attention. I was too busy talking about Tris with Zeke, asking him if it was too soon, to ask her to be my wife even though we have only lived together for a few short weeks, but those short weeks feel like a lifetime of happiness to me. I don't have a ring yet, but the thought has occurred to me more than once to ask her without an engagement ring. I was with Stacy for years, and the thought of marriage never occurred to me, it scared me.

I shove my hands into my pockets as I try to keep my hands to myself, if I touch her, I know I will break and ask her to stay. I really need her to stay, even if I can't talk about what is going on with me. Tris makes me feel safe like Peter can't hurt me anymore. My mouth feels dry as I think about asking her the question; will you stay with me? Don't leave. I wish I could ask her to stay. I wish I could tell her the words that she wants to hear from me so badly. I wish I could finish my damn sentence, and tell her I love her, that I have loved her since the moment I caught her falling over those boxes in my kitchen, since the night we spent talking in the airport all those months ago.

I see her lips moving, but I can't make out the words that she is saying. I wish I could be the prince she so badly deserves after everything she has been through. But the moment I open my mouth to tell her how much she means to me, how much I love her, and how I want her in my life forever, all I can say is, "You don't understand how big of an effect you have on me." My mouth and brain won't connect, and I lose my nerve. My words fall flat on my tongue as I look at Tris, knowing if I asked her to stay, she would, and I can't be selfish with her like that, no matter how much I want to.

I can't watch her fall apart every time she steps foot inside this house until I manage to secure new transfer orders to another state. Base housing is full to capacity, and I know Zeke and Shauna would happily let Tris stay if I asked, but their house is set up exactly like mine. I can't bear the thought of watching her having to hide her emotions away from me and our friends as she battled her inner demons. She needs to get away from California, she needs to start fresh, even if it means leaving me in the process.

I keep repeating to myself the stupid saying: if you love someone, set them free. If they come back, they are yours; if they don't, then they were never yours to begin with. My chest aches as her final words hit me. I blink as her words sink in. Her words, "Goodbye Tobias. I hope you find whatever it is that you are looking for in this life because it clearly isn't me. I hope you get the help you need," resound in my head. She broke up with me; I just lost the best thing to ever happen to me. Why can't I tell her that I really don't believe that there is nothing better out there for her and that I spouted some bullshit off to her, trying to push her away from me? As I watch her walk through security, the hole in my chest grows wider, heavier, and I feel like I can't breathe.

When she is on the other side of security, I call to her, just wanting to see her face one more time before she walks away from me forever to start fresh in New York. My chest aches as I stare at her standing there with people knocking into her. I can tell she is crying, and my heart hurts, my mouth feels sticky. I want to tell her that I made a mistake, that we can make this work between us. I yell, "Tris," but she doesn't turn around. "Tris," I call again, my heart racing, hoping that she will respond to my voice, but she doesn't. I see her hold her head high, and, as she takes a step, my chest begins to physically hurt; I feel like I have been punched as she rounds the corner, and I lose sight of her. I run towards the metal gate, banging against it, attempting to knock it over. "Sir!" A man yells at me, "You can't go in there. You need to stand in the security line, and you need a ticket to do that."

"Please, I need to get to my girlfriend. I recently made the biggest mistake of my life." I say, desperately to the man behind the gate as I thrash against the metal barrier separating Tris and myself. I don't remember what happens next, but somehow I end up in an interrogation room under bright lights in handcuffs. _Fuck!_

 **Tris POV**

As the plane is loading, unshed tears burn my eyes, and the tears begin to fall as I board the plane. I wait for Tobias at the gate, hoping that he will realize his mistake by letting me go. When the flight attendant announces, "Last Call United Airlines Flight 5467 San Francisco to O'Hare," the tears won't stop falling as I replay our last interaction together. As I sit in the vacant window seat, my mind creates a world that doesn't exist; the one where Tobias said all the right things when he chased me down to the airline gate. The world where he got down on his knees to confess his love to me as he agrees to seek help not only for me but for himself as well. I shake my head disrupting the beautiful daydream. That version of Tobias doesn't exist. The once upbeat man, who I met in O'Hare, who stayed up half the night talking, flirting with me, he doesn't exist. At least not anymore. He only exists in my mind now. Maybe Peter destroyed him as well, and he can't be saved. Maybe, he doesn't feel worthy of my love after everything Peter inflicted. Maybe our relationship has been through too much damage to endure whatever comes next. Maybe he figured out I am too damaged, and he doesn't want me. Maybe he is too damaged from Peter's violence. Wiping the tears from my eyes, I am determined to not shed another tear for Tobias, at least for the rest of the plane ride to O'Hare airport, but it is useless, everywhere I look in this stupid place, every song that fills my earbuds, reminds me of him.

As the plane boards, a young girl with her father hurries to their seats, out of breath. I rub my eyes as I rip my earbuds out of my ears, feeling like I am going crazy. "Stephen?" I whisper at the dirty blonde, blue-eyed man buckling in his daughter. He looks up with a surprised expression on his face. The surprised expression turns to happiness as he says, "Tris, I didn't expect to see you ever again. I stopped by the house earlier, but no one was there."

"Why? What did you need? Where are you and Mattie off to?" I ask, trying to change the subject.

A dreamy smile falls upon his lips as he says, "Mark called last night. He is finally coming home." I giggle, "That is great news. I am so happy for you."

He laughs, "Yeah, but now that he will be coming home, Mattie and I will be going to New Jersey to be with him, to the base that he is stationed at. The Air Force gods finally gave me New Jersey as my base for transfer. Mattie and I are going on a short vacation to go find daddy in a crowd of other people in uniforms at the airport, then we are all going house hunting together. Aren't we, darling?" Stephen asks, looking at his smiling, red-haired, blue-eyed daughter, sitting between us. She giggles, bouncing in her seat, "Yes, daddy. He promised me, my very own room with my own bathroom and a pool."

"You did that?" I ask Stephen as he shakes his head sighing, "Mark, the trouble maker, that he is, always trying to be the favorite parent since he is hardly ever around. As I already told you, Mattie, we will have to think about the pool. Maybe we can get a pool table."

"Why a pool table?" She asks curiously, raising a brow at him, "You don't play pool."

"So I can throw your father on it, and kiss him." He mutters under his breath. I burst out laughing, catching his remark, as he stares at me, smirking. Mattie looks confused as she cocks her head to the side, asking, "What's funny?"

I feel my cheeks heat as Stephen whispers, "Never mind you," as she squeals, "Eww! You're going to kiss, daddy when you see him?" Mattie laughs, acting like a typical six-year-old.

"Yeah, why?" Stephen grins, looking at her as she responds, "Because daddy, you are only supposed to kiss me."

"Am I now?" He asks, smirking at her, raising an eyebrow, while leaning down, planting several kisses all over her face as she giggles, "Stop!" She pushes him away with her hands as he cradles her in his arms. Mattie and I color for a while, then she falls asleep against Stephen's side. When she is asleep, Stephen and I talk, and it helps to keep my mind off Tobias. Stephen doesn't bring up Tobias nor does he ask me where I am going. When the plane touches down in Chicago, a sense of sadness overwhelms me, when Stephen picks Mattie up. He gives me a one-armed hug as he whispers, "Take care of yourself, Tris, and keep in touch."

"Same goes for you, Stephen. I hope that you find a great house with everything that you are looking for. Maybe one with a pool in it for Mattie, and please say hello to Mark for me." I whisper, hugging him tightly as he pulls me closer to his side, he whispers into my ear, "Tris, I know Four. I have lived next to him for years, he is a very stubborn individual. He loves you. He will come around. Please, don't give up on him. Fight for him, fight for your relationship. Relationships like yours don't happen every day. You are good together, you bring out the best in him, I have never seen him smile as much as I have seen him smile these last few weeks since you moved in with him."

"But, what if he gave up on me, first?" I ask as he releases me, he says, "Then call him, and demand an explanation for his actions, ask him, why." I rub Mattie's head gently as he turns, walking away from me. At the doorway, he waves at me, and I return the wave. I'm the last one standing on the plane. I take a deep, shaky breath as I take my first step. Then I take another one, and I feel, with each step I take stronger. I try to feel stronger for whatever journey lies ahead. A new life, one without Tobias, loving Tobias, or whatever that looks like if Tobias is involved in my life, if he so chooses. As I step off the plane into the O'Hare airport terminal, I blink as the airport lights, blind me. I gather the little bit of strength I have, as I look up toward the gate, I murmur to myself, "Come on, Tris. You can do this. You have got this."

 **Please review and let me know what you thought of this chapter. What did you think of Tobias's POV? Did you enjoy it? Do you think he will be able to get himself out of the situation he has gotten himself into? If so how? I do have some bad news, I'm probably not going to be able to update until the weekend of August 3rd. I will try to update sooner on my usual every other weekend, but I make no promises as my husband and I are going away on my weekends off during the month of July.**


	32. Chapter 31 The Outfield

**So I'm back with another chapter. I think this chapter will be worth the wait for many of you, but we will see. Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I read them each and every one of them, and I appreciate the time everyone took to comment. Thank you to everyone who is still reading this story. Once again, I don't own Divergent, and all military-related mistakes are mine. Happy Reading!**

 **Chapter 31 The Outfield**

As I depart the plane in Chicago, I blink. Standing in the darkened tunnel at the end: a man in an Air Force uniform with blue eyes. For a minute, I think I am hallucinating from lack of sleep. I pinch myself, the image disappears. Tobias's ghost is all over O'Hare airport, and it is too much for me to handle. Tears build in my eyes as I make my way to the flight board to check on my flight, only to find it is delayed. I recall now why I hate O'Hare airport as a layover spot.

The rumblings of my stomach remind me of my hunger, and I decide to eat at The Pitt as I did the last time I was in Chicago. Attempting to navigate my way through the busy travelers, and the maze of this airport, my mind begins to wander to Tobias once again. Last time I was at this airport, I was walking slowly; I didn't want to go home to Peter. Now, I'm walking slowly for a completely different reason. Every footstep I take, it feels like another footstep away from Tobias, another step closer to Christina. As I round the corner to The Pitt, my stomach grumbles loudly, my mouth begins to water from the delicious smelling fried food, and I hit smack dab into a wall of muscle. I feel a sick sense of deja vu all over again as I fall to the floor hard on my ass. When I look up, I am met with brilliant blue eyes. A hand swings down to me as an alluring voice fills my ears saying, "Tris?"

I don't respond, feeling that I have gone crazy. My hallucination is speaking to me, now. "Tris, I tried. I tried to set you free, but you set me free first. I'm coming back to you, I don't want to be free. I'm all yours. I have been yours from the moment I laid eyes on you, the very first time at this airport." My mouth hangs open as the hallucination looks at me, a questioning look on his face wondering why I'm not conversing with him. I'm scared to look at him as I remember the saying: if you love someone, set them free. If they come back, they are yours; if they don't then they were never yours to begin with. The hallucination's eyes catch mine as he says, "Tris, I'm so glad I found you. I'm sorry. Why aren't you going to talk to me?"

"What?" I ask, touching his hand, expecting air, only to realize it is real, solid, human flesh. My eyes snap up to his automatically.

"At the airport, you told me, you hope I find whatever it is in this life that will make me happy. That is you, Tris, it has always been you. It will always be you. I love you, Tris. I only see a future with you. I see a big beautiful life with you. I see a marriage with you, maybe a dog or two, and kids if you want them. I know that I am messed up right now, but I promise, I will get help. I will get counseling. I already made an appointment." He says, kneeling down onto the ground with me, looking me in the eyes as passersby stare at both of us like we are crazy for being on the floor of an airport together. "Please don't leave me. I don't think I was truly living until you came into my life, Tris. If you walk out on me now and don't forgive me for the stupid mistake that I made by letting you go, by not telling you that I love you when you asked me, I will go back to the empty shell of a man that I was when we first met."

"Of course, I forgive you, Tobias," My eyes glisten with unshed tears, still not believing my ears the confession of his love, of his agreement to seek the help he needs.

"I love you, Tris. It took me all of two minutes after you walked away from me to realize I was missing a piece of myself, it felt like I had lost a part of my heart, like a piece of my very soul was ripped from my body. I called to you, but you wouldn't look back. I tried to get the security guy to let me through, but he wouldn't. He almost threw me in jail trying to get to you. He thought I was stalking you. After I got a warning, I went online, and paid for the first ticket that I could find to Chicago." Tobias whispers. His voice gets lower, I catch certain words, like handcuffs, mix-up, wanted list, similar-looking, needed to prove identity, first flight, O'Hare, steal jet from the base. I ignore all those words, not wanting to hear any specifics as I ask, "But how? Why?" Tears clouding my vision as he says, "I love you. I don't want to live without you, ever. I can't promise you that this will be an easy road, but it will be a road worth taking together."

"I love you, Tobias," his face lights up as he hears my response. His hands touch my cheek, tentatively, carefully, as he pushes a piece of hair away from my face, before his soft lips touch mine in a gentle kiss as his hands pull me closer to him, he deepens the kiss, his tongue sweeping across my lower lip. As the kiss breaks, he stares into my eyes murmuring, "I've loved you for a while, but I've been scared to tell you. Scared that you'd break my heart like Stacy. I wasn't trying to fall in love with you when I first caught you in my kitchen and knocked on your front door, but it happened as easy as breathing. I'm sorry it took me so long to say those three little words to you, but I love you, so much, Tris Prior."

I have no words, the man just poured his heart out to me. I just smile at him, his words that I have longed to hear, still sinking in, as he continues "Will you still have me?" He asks shyly, "Please tell me that my stupidity didn't ruin the one good thing that I have going on for me in this life?"

I take a deep breath, look into his eyes that have the potential to break my fragile heart again, as I whisper, "I love you, Tobias," once again "I want to experience everything with you."

"You do?" He asks, sounding unsure.

"Yes." Is the only word I can get out before his lips smash into mine again. Our lips move in sync as his hands move up and down my arms coming to rest on my lower back, pulling me closer to him as my hands grip him by the shoulders pulling him closer to me. We pull away from our kiss breathless, our foreheads touching, my eyes taking in his appearance, and finally noticing his military camouflage. "Why are you in uniform?" I ask, breaking the moment.

"I just poured my heart out to you, and you are looking at me in my uniform, checking out my body. Typical female!" He smirks at me, winking his eye. "Actually, you were in regular clothes when I left you. Now, you're in your camouflage, so spill!"

"I may have used some military influence to get me on my flight." He grins at me as I raise an eyebrow at him. "I told them that I needed to win my girl back, and I stupidly let her go live with her friends across the country."

I roll my eyes as I say, "Tobias!" _Sure you did. You probably needed your uniform to prove part of your identity._

"Well, it is the truth, Tris. I couldn't let you walk away from me, and not try to get you back. I had to at least try. Come home with me. Start a life with me. Someday marry me, spend the rest of your life just being you, and let's plan a beautiful future together."

"Are you proposing?" I ask, quipping my eyebrow at him as my heartbeat speeds up at the idea of being Mrs. Eaton. I secretly like the sound of that, but I need time to learn how to be Tris first. He turns bright red as he says "No, not yet. I don't even have a ring."

"So, you have thought about it."

"Perhaps, but I will tell you no more on the subject." He grins at me. "Now, let's go home. I would love for you to come with me to my counseling session on Thursday. I'm a little nervous. We can stay off base at a hotel until we find a place of our own." He says, holding his hand out to me as he gets off of the ground.

At that moment, I feel conflicted. I really want to go home with him. I want to go with him to his session on Thursday. I want to go visit Christina as well, and not have to worry about Peter's threatening phone calls or anything else. I feel like I am being pulled in a million different directions. As I take a deep breath, ready to tell Tobias, I want to visit Chris and Will, he says to me, "You should go to visit Christina, and I will go have my session. I will tell you all about it, and I will put in for a new assignment, for a new base. I will be at the airport waiting for you when you are done visiting your friends, take all the time you need. I wish I could meet them, but I can't be away from the base that long. I love you, Tris. You'll come home to me, right?" He asks, worry lacing his voice.

"Of course. I love you." I lean up on my toes and gently press my lips to his as he pulls me close against his body.

I walk with him to his gate, and we sit in silence, holding hands for the five minutes until his plane starts boarding. He kisses me gently on the head, as he whispers, "Goodbye, my love. I love you, I will miss you so much. I will see you before you even know it. Come home to me soon." He leans down to kiss me one last time, tears begin to fall, his fingers reach down, and wipe them away, as I wrap my arms tightly around him. "I need to go, baby." He whispers into my ear as his eyes glance at the monitor on the wall,

"I know." I hug him tighter, as I let him go, he turns away from me as I watch him begin to walk down the ramp to the plane, one of the last people to board, as the flight attendant announces, "Last Call for American Airlines Flight 4476 to San Francisco." Tears pool in my eyes as I drop my bag at the gate, break out into a run as I scream, "Tobias! Wait! Tobias!" As I go running past the flight attendant, she screams, "Miss, you can't!" He turns just in time to catch me as my legs encircle his waist, he sees the tears in my eyes, as he asks, "Tris, what's wrong?"

"Please don't leave!"

"Sir!" The flight attendant screams down the ramp as Tobias carries me back up to the airport.

"Give us a moment!" Tobias says sternly to the woman as she shoots us both a dirty look. He lowers his voice, whispering, "Baby, I will be there waiting for you after your trip. I promise. You can call me all the time. I can't go with you to New York. I wish I could. I can't pick up and take a trip like that. I'm not approved for leave now. I wish I was. I would go with you in a heartbeat. Plus, I have to go see my surgeon to make sure everything is healing properly tomorrow, and I want to get the best help for you, me, and for us." Tears continue to pour out of my eyes as he catches them with his thumb.

"Oh my God! Did I hurt you? You aren't supposed to be lifting anything heavy. How could I have been so stupid! I could have ripped open your incision lines." I say as I place my fingers onto his stomach, gently.

"Hey!" He says gently, placing his fingers under my chin, making my eyes meet his "You didn't hurt me. It's fine. I love you." He murmurs as he lifts his shirt slightly revealing clean bandages.

"I love you," I reply at ease that he isn't hurt. He kisses me on the forehead, his lips move against my skin as he says, "How about this. I think watching me get on a plane is a little too much for you after everything we have been through together. I want you to turn around and walk to your gate right now."

"Okay," I whisper as he bends, his lips dancing with mine one last time. He steadies me on my feet, spins me in the opposite direction of him, toward my terminal.

"I love you, princess." He whispers into my ear one last time as my eyes close, taking in his voice, the feeling of his breath against my skin.

"I love you," I whisper into the air as my eyes open as I start walking, I grab my bag from the ground, and head toward my terminal. I turn around, and Tobias is still standing under the sign for Gate 23. He waves at me from a distance as I return his wave, a smile appears on my lips as I feel more at peace with myself than I did when I first entered this airport.

 **So thoughts and opinions on this chapter? What did everyone think? Did anyone realize that these two hadn't said I love you yet? Next update will be on the weekend of August 17.**


	33. Chapter 32 Pillow Talk

**Hey Readers, sorry this chapter is later than I promised, but I promise I have several good excuses. Thank you to everyone who commented on the last chapter, and thanks to everyone who continues to read this story. I promise that I read all the comments. I don't own Divergent and all military-related mistakes are mine. Happy Reading! **

**Chapter 32 Pillow Talk**

My month-long stay in New York with Christina and Will was just what I needed, after everything that happened back in California. It cleared my mind, and it helped to take my mind off of everything I had endured. I needed the time to figure out what I wanted from my relationship with Tobias. I required the freedom to find myself as a person, and I wanted the time to allow myself to come to terms with what I had gone through in my life lately; from finding out that Peter was the one responsible for my parents deaths, to the abuse I had suffered at the hands of Peter, to learning I would never accept that kind of treatment from a man again. That month in New York, I started to grow into my own person, a person I came to love including all her faults, weaknesses, and imperfections, and become even more independent from the process of self-actualization.

Every night during that month away, I called Tobias, and we would spend hours talking over the phone, as I stared at the night sky, at the stars, wishing he was there with me, next to me on the rooftop holding my hand. We would discuss his long days at work, his sessions with the Chaplain that week, he would confide in me how he felt like he was slowly getting better, and he would tell me how much he missed me that day. During the phone calls, he would often talk about little things that he saw during the day at work, the objects which made him think of me. The phone call always ended the same, he would casually ask me when I was coming home, and I would answer, soon, not having an answer to give him, really.

At first, Tobias was nervous about talking to Chaplain Alex, he wouldn't admit it, but I could tell from hearing his voice quiver as he talked to me that first night. Now, the two seem to have connected and formed a great working therapeutic relationship. Tobias seems to enjoy opening up to someone, other than me, who is nonjudgemental.

"When are you coming home, Tris, or are you staying with Chris and Will forever in New York?" Tobias asks sadly. I sigh, our conversation always drifts to when I will be home, and normally I don't have an answer for him. As much as I miss him, I'm enjoying spending time with Christina, getting into trouble most nights of the week. I'm even enjoying her dress up games. I was planning on surprising him, but I have no idea where he is living now. He moved out of Zeke's house and wanted to surprise me with our new place of residence until his transfer to our new base. I try again, "When is your transfer to a new base?"

"Nice try, Tris." He sighs, attempting to change the subject as he asks, "Do you see the moon tonight?"

"Yes, it is pink, and so full here. Is it there too?"

"Mhmm."

"It is amazing to look at. I could look at it all night. I could fall asleep on the roof looking at it. It is so beautiful." I whisper into my phone as he whispers back, "Well, I have seen something rather someone even more beautiful." I feel my cheeks heat even though he can't see me as I lay back on the roof imagining him next to me as I blurt out my plans for tomorrow, unable to contain them any longer, "I'm coming home tomorrow. Will you meet me at the airport like you said you would?"

"Yes, I can't believe it." He laughs gently as I continue, "My plane gets into San Fran at one in the afternoon."

"Baby, I'll be there waiting for you outside of security. Come hell or high water, nothing could keep me away from you not even, Chaplain Alex. I can't wait to hold you and see you again. It feels like a million years since I have done either."

"Yeah, I know. I stayed out here way too long." I giggle into the phone, my excitement building at seeing him again, my chest feeling lighter than when I started the phone call.

"No, I told you to stay out there for as long as you needed, and you have done just that. I love you, Tris." My heartbeat picks up as he tells me he loves me again. I don't think I will ever grow tired of hearing this man tell me those words. "I love you too, Tobias."

"You better get some sleep. It is past three in the morning your time out there."

"Okay. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, my love." He hangs up the phone as I run my fingers through my now short and dyed hair. Tobias doesn't know about either the dye job or the haircut, and I wonder how he will react to them. I'm scared that he won't love me anymore because of how I look. I shake my head, waving away the crazy thought. Tobias loves me for what is on my inside, not how I look on the outside.

When Christina picked me up in New York, she took one took at me, and said, "You need a change." I shook my head. She was always trying to drag me to a hair salon every day to change my look until last week when I finally agreed, my outside no longer matching how I felt on the inside. She kept telling me that I needed a new look to go with the new person who I had become and the new life that I had, now that I was finally rid of Peter. After the makeover, she wanted to get a tattoo with me, but I was unsure enough about my new haircut and dye job. Instead, I watched as Chris and Will got a couples tattoo with a heart lock and a key on each of their hips. A thought crossed my mind of how I wanted to do something like that with Tobias one day in my future. My mind wondered what his views were on body art, we never discussed it. I know he doesn't have any tattoos, but he has never voiced any opinions against it either.

As I get ready to enter security, Will gives me a bear hug while saying, "Don't be a stranger. Maybe next time, you can bring that boyfriend of yours out here with you to visit."

"Maybe," I smile as enthusiasm shoots down my spine at the thought of introducing Tobias to my friends as my boyfriend for the first time, as I turn to Christina, who is traveling on business, I ask "You ready?"

"Yeah, I'll be right behind you."

When Christina and I get through security, we separate, going our separate ways. She gives me a long hug, saying, "Oh Tris, you take good care of yourself, and I expect you to call me every once in a while. Like when Four finally proposes to you. I want to design your wedding dress."

"I will; don't worry." I smile as she gives me another hug, then leaves me in the dust as the crowd of people swarms around me, carrying me towards my destination.

When my plane lands in San Francisco, my heart is beating fast. My feet carry me past security faster than I intend, and I get lost in the crowd looking for Tobias. I don't see him anywhere. Maybe he forgot or got caught up while at the base with something. As I am pulling out my cell to call him, I hear behind me. "Tris?" I spin to find Tobias, standing behind me with sunflowers in hand, in a black t-shirt and blue jeans, his glasses on. "Wow, you look different! I wasn't expecting it."

"Do you like it?" I ask nervously, as I run my fingers through my black curly shoulder-length hair.

"Like it. I love it. You look beautiful. But, I don't think words can express your beauty. It takes my breath away just looking at you right now." I feel my cheeks heat as he continues saying, "You look so different especially with the bangs. I almost didn't recognize you, but then I saw your cell with our picture on it, and I knew it had to be you."

"I missed you, Tobias," I say as I stare into his eyes, not knowing what else to say to him, feeling butterflies float around my stomach.

"I missed you," he says as he stares back into my eyes, he draws me into his arms, his lips press into mine gently as he kisses me. "You ready to go home?" He murmurs against my lips, smiling.

"Yes!" I say, taking his hand, his thumb running over the back of my hand, as he leads me down the stairs, thoughts of the last time that I left this airport plague my mind of Peter tripping me and telling me that he should make me walk back to the car on my hands and knees, I shake my head and the thoughts disappear. As we drive back to the base, I can't help but stare at Tobias. He looks so different than when I left him at the airport in Chicago. All his bruises are healed, his boot is off, and his split lip is gone as well.

"What are you staring at?" He asks, grinning at me.

"Nothing. You." I smirk. He smiles at me as he grabs my hand, running his fingers over my knuckles, bringing my hand up to his mouth, he kisses it, and says, "I missed this."

"Holding my hand?"

"Yes, I missed holding your hand."

"So, you wouldn't tell me, where we are moving to on the phone. You still plan on keeping me in the dark?"

"Well, I do have a way for you to get it out of me though."

"And what would that be?" I ask, quipping an eyebrow at him.

"Giving me a kiss." He whispers into my ear.

"A kiss?" I ask, shock lacing my voice.

"Yes!" He glances at me while smiling.

"Well, I will have to think about that one, Mr. Eaton," I say playfully.

As we stop at a light, I lean over and gently press my lips against his, enjoying the closeness of him again. We get lost in the kiss as he pulls away from the kiss, he stares at me with all this love and devotion in his eyes. Tobias leans forwards, his right arm resting on the armrest. Staring intensely into my eyes, he touches my chin with the tips of his fingers, drawing me closer to him. Our lips almost touching. "No one understands..." He murmurs, his breath fanning over my lips. "They don't understand just how big of an effect you have on me. You own my soul, Tris."

"What?" I ask confused. "Just forget it." He says before he bends closer, his nose running along my cheek, nose, and neck as he plants open mouth kisses until he finally reaches my lips with his own, and we get lost in the kiss again.

A car beeps their horn behind us as the light turns green breaking our kiss, as I feel my cheeks heat having gotten caught up in the moment with Tobias, who smiles at me as he says "I love you, Miss Prior. I don't think I will ever tire of telling you that. Not after waiting so long to tell you those three words. I have three different options for us, and I am leaving the choice completely up to you of where you want to live. Any of these guys are willing to trade assignments with me to stay in California for a few years longer. Option one, we can go to Alabama. Option two, we can go to Maryland for a short time then be transferred to another base in Virginia for a few years. Option three, we can go to South Carolina. Option four, we can go to New Jersey."

"Have you ever been to any of these bases before?"

"The one in Alabama, I have. I was there for officer training school. It's a decent base. I wouldn't mind going back, but it's your choice. The other bases I have never been to, but you know they say Virginia is for lovers." He wiggles his eyebrows as he continues, "I know, you have never been anywhere besides California, the choice is all yours, choose wisely."

"You really don't have an opinion."

"Whatever will make you happy. I will go where you want to go. I leave our future in your hands. My home is where ever you are."

"Really?" I ask, not believing my ears. Peter would never have allowed me to make such an important decision.

"Really." He says a confident tone in his voice, smiling at me.

"Can I think about it for a day or two."

"Sure, but I do need an answer by the end of the week."

As Tobias misses the turn for the house on the base, I ask, "Where are you going?"

He grins, "I got us a new apartment on base, unfortunately, it is right next to Zeke and Shauna, but this apartment is all ours until we get transferred somewhere else. Zeke and I finished moving in all the boxes yesterday. We spent all morning working feverishly unpacking all the boxes. I figured we could decorate this place together."

As Tobias pulls onto a different part of the base, and parks in front of a different house, which is similar looking, but smaller than the one we were living in before the Peter incident, memories flash through my mind once again. I force them back. I refuse to give Peter any more time or space in my life. Tobias has a sign hanging on the door. It reads, Welcome Home Tris. Tears fill my eyes at his thoughtfulness. Tobias excitedly shows me the new house, and as we are sitting on the couch, I ask, "Tobias, would you ever get a tattoo?" Thinking about Christina and Will getting their matching tattoos, the thought running through my mind at the idea of doing such a thing with Tobias.

"I have never thought about it. Why? What brings this up, love?"

"No reason. I was just wondering what your opinions on tattoos are?"

"I have nothing against them."

"Why don't you have any?" I ask, glancing at him, trying to imagine some sort of ink coloring his skin.

"I have never found any tattoos that I have identified with or any reason why I would mark my body." He says, glancing at me from the corner of his eye.

"So you would get one?"

"I suppose if I ever found one that I liked. You know those are permanent right?"

"Yes, silly, Christina and Will got a couples tattoo, and I was wondering if you would ever get one with me?"

"Maybe one day." He grins at me "When we are married." _There is that word again, marriage, that he has talked about before._ The word sends a shiver up my spine.

"Do you have plans to do just that?" I ask, trying to get him to confess.

"One day, but not right now." He says, blushing, pulling me close, then kisses my head as he turns the tv on, ending the conversation.

Things return to normal, Tobias, goes back to work on the base which for him at the moment is training the new recruits on simulation flights, he still isn't allowed to fly until he is cleared by the surgeon. I know he is itching to get back up in a fighter jet, but he still has at least another week of healing to do. I quit my job at the hospital, giving Tori my notice, which felt amazing, it felt liberating. It felt great to be done with that part of my life, and as I walk out of the hospital I pick up my phone to dial the phone number to a nurse recruiter's office to discuss how to move my license across state lines.

Later that week, Tobias comes home from work looking happy, abnormally happy. He pulls me close, kissing me sweetly, lifting me off the ground, swinging me in a circle as I giggle, "What are you so happy about?" I ask, trying to read into his good mood.

"The surgeon cleared me. I got my wings back. I just can't fly my fighter jet for two more weeks, but the normal planes I can fly. And no heavy lifting for two more weeks, well nothing above one hundred and fifty pounds. After that, I will be officially healed!"

I smile as I say, "I am so happy for you."

"I brought home something for dinner to celebrate. I'm going to start the grill."

"Okay," I say as I follow him outside, "Tobias?"

"Yeah." He asks looking over his shoulder. "Are you sure you don't want to make this decision," I ask, referring to him choosing which base he wants to transfer to. He smiles, as he says, "No. I want you to. After all, I have lived on the East Coast before. You have not. So what base will it be?"

"Well, I'm stuck between Maryland, South Carolina, and Virginia. Can you tell me anything about those bases? What would you be doing?"

"Well, Maryland, South Carolina, and Virginia are joint bases. That means there are multiple branches stationed on those bases. Here at Travis, there is only the Air Force. In South Carolina, there is, I believe, the Air Force and the Navy. Maryland, that base might have the Navy, the Air Force, along with the Air Guard, and Air Force Reserves. The base in Virginia is also another joint base. It has the Army and the Air Force. The Coast Guard base is also very close as well. As far as what I will be doing, I'm a pilot, my job doesn't change just the type of piloting that I do and that I wouldn't know until I get to the base."

"I like South Carolina, but it might be a little too humid. I like Virginia too. Let's go to Maryland that way we can be transferred to Virginia after some time there. It will be the best of both worlds."

"Okay." He says, smiling. "Excellent choice, my love." He has a look in his eye like he is keeping a secret as he leans forward pressing his lips to mine.

 **Thoughts? Opinions? What do you think Tobias is hiding or is Tris wrong, and he isn't hiding anything at all? Can't wait to hear your guesses. Next chapter will be up the weekend of August 31.**


	34. Chapter 33 Waking Up In Vegas

**Hey, Readers here is the next chapter! Thank you to everyone who continues to read this story and to everyone who commented on the last chapter. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Happy Reading!**

 **Chapter 33 Waking Up In Vegas**

 **Tris POV**

Fingertips gently rub against my cheek, a gentle male voice rouses me from sleep, as breath fans over my ear, sending a chill down my spine, even under my pink blanket. "We're here, sleepyhead, wake up." My eyes slide open. Bright blinking lights blind me as I ask, sleepily, "Where are we?"

"Vegas, baby!" Tobias grins at me, doing his best Elvis impression.

I giggle as I reply, "Don't quit your day job."

"Don't plan on it." He smirks.

Tobias and I left Travis behind that morning driving the Raptor after the moving company packed everything yesterday leaving the house completely empty. Yesterday after the movers left and Tobias went to work for a short time, I took a trip to a hairdresser to add a red ombre to my already black hair, needing to add some color to my life, not being able to stand the completely black hair anymore. When I returned home, Tobias was back already, his jaw practically hit the floor when he rounded the corner, he pulled me to his chest, and whispered, "You look like a fallen angel, and I'm not sure which look I love more, but this one definitely makes you look more of a badass." My cheeks heated as his words fell onto my ears as Tobias handed me a few pieces of paper stapled together from his pocket, his official orders, as he smiled.

Tobias was given almost a week after his current command released him to report to his new command in Maryland, once his orders were made official. The thought of spending almost a week with Tobias uninterrupted sends butterflies flying throughout my stomach once again. Tobias was insistent that we drive cross-country, and that we wouldn't need the whole week to do it. I, on the other hand, was beyond excited to drive cross-country with him, to see the different parts that we would be driving through.

"We're in Vegas?" I ask, excitedly, having never been to Vegas before. Tobias never mentioned any pit stops we were making, he was keeping all of our stops secret.

"Yes, Tris, we are."

"Are you nuts, Tobias?" I ask, groggily, as he shrugs his shoulder, "Nope, but I'm crazy about you." He smiles at me, turning the music off as he pulls up in front of a hotel called the Bellagio. My eyes glance at the still water as I ask, eyeing him, "Is this the hotel with the dancing water fountains. The ones that are synced to music and lights?"

"Perhaps." He shrugs his shoulders once again as he pulls one bag from the truck. He says, "We are staying here for two nights, Miss Prior. You once told me you wanted to see different sights in the United States, well first stop is Vegas, next stop, the rest of the world. I plan to show you some of the world on this trip." My mind floats back to a conversation Tobias and I had on the phone when I was in New York, he asked me what I wanted to see most, and I told him the world. Then he asked what specifically in the world, I mentioned Vegas and the Grand Canyon right away.

"You listened when I talked about Vegas?" I whisper as he pulls me against him, as he whispers, "I always listen when you talk, Tris." He murmurs against my lips. His lips are soft and full. He kisses me in front of the hotel, and I feel like I am in a movie. As we pull away from each other, music begins to play, and the fountains begin to come to life, jumping to beat of the music.

"Oh, my!" I whisper, breathlessly from the sight of the fountains. Tobias and I stand against the railing, mesmerized, watching the fountains dance. When the show ends, he says, "Come with me baby, let's go check into our room."

"Will you let me pay for the room?" I ask, handing Tobias my credit card. He shakes his head, no. I push the card into his hand as I say, "You can get the next place and all the meals in Vegas. I want to pay for the room, please."

"Are you sure?" He asks, unsure.

"Yes" I whisper as Tobias checks us into our room, I look around the massive lobby, taking in the sights and sounds of the Vegas strip in awe. Tobias appears behind me, he reaches for my hand, our suitcase in his other hand. He glances at me as he asks, "You ready? I have our room key."

Stepping out of the elevator, this place looks expensive. _I can't afford this._ Sliding the key card through the lock, the door opens revealing our room. A massive king-sized bed with a fluffy white comforter, a plush silver and blue rug, white blackout curtains, and the wall paper matches the rug on the floor. It all takes my breath away. Jumping on the bed, exhausted from the day of traveling, I moan as the feeling of a soft, pillow-top mattress caresses my body. I mutter, "I don't know where you are sleeping, Tobias, but I found where I am."

A grumble sounds near my ear, "Oh, you are sharing that bed." He bounces onto the bed with me, encircling me in his arms as I giggle. As the bed settles, he groans, "Remind me again, why you didn't talk me out of driving cross country?"

"Because you told me it would be fun. You know, we only drove for like ten hours today."

"Shoot me now." Tobias mumbles as I grin, giggling, "Never," crawling into his side, then I crawl on top of him, loving the way his body feels under mine. Tobias struggles to get out from under me, and up from the bed, he moans, "We should go find something to eat."

"Room service?" I ask, peaking at him from under my lashes.

"Whatever you want, your wish is my command." He smiles at me as I respond, "What I want is a nice, warm bubble bath, and I think, I will have just that, while you order something for us for dinner."

"Yes, my lady," Tobias laughs as I smirk at him, shutting the bathroom door. As I sink into the bubble bath, I feel the tension of the day slip away from my muscles, my eyes close, getting lost in the warmth of the bath. A knock startles me awake, "Tris, dinner is here," Tobias says through the door, "I hope you are in the mood for burgers."

"Sounds great!" I yell, toweling off, throwing on Tobias's old Air Force shirt with his name on the back of it with a pair of black shorts. As I open the bathroom door, I hear a whistle. My cheeks heat as he says, "Nice shirt," the intonation in his voice can be heard that he finds what I am wearing sexy. My eyes meet his, and he smirks at me. My eyes scan over his body, he has changed as well, into a pair of basketball shorts, and a tank top. I sit on the bed as he passes me the food. Handing me a flute of champagne, I raise an eyebrow, and ask, "What is this for?"

"We are celebrating!"

"Celebrating, what?"

"Freedom for a short while."

"What type of freedom, might I ask. I thought you loved the military and getting to be a pilot?"

"I do, but I hate having to shave daily. I hate having to get a haircut every week because my hair for some unknown reason grows way too quickly. I also get to pick out my own clothing while traveling, and I don't have to be in uniform which is a plus." He dings his glass with mine. Together we take a sip, looking into each other's eyes, and after we have drunk our glasses, he pulls me down to the bed, curling his body around mine for the night. He whispers, "I love you, Tris. Tomorrow, we will go explore the gardens and maybe the casinos if you want."

"That sounds like a plan. Goodnight, Tobias, I love you." I reply, and soon I am fast asleep, dreaming about tomorrow and our day in Vegas.

Tobias and I spend the next day exploring Vegas as he promised. We explore the botanical gardens seeing all the different flowers. Whenever I turn around, I find Tobias with his phone in hand attempting to take a picture of me with a flower or a plant. That night, we go to various bars and casinos as it is our only night in Vegas. Tobias and I play a few slot machines, and he is good at them, winning the jackpot on one of the machines. I, however, am garbage at them. I end up losing the ten dollars I put into the machine. The drinks continue to flow as we continue to bounce around the different bars on the strip, and soon the room is spinning, and the words are slurring together. Tobias eyes me like he has a secret again, he pulls me close, he whispers into my ear, "Let's have the ultimate Vegas experience."

"I thought we were having that." I giggle at him, pointing to the drinks, the slot machines, the bar, and the dance floor. He shakes his head as he responds, "I love you, Tris Prior. I don't have an engagement ring or anything, I am probably being really stupid right now, but I want to marry you. Will you marry me right here, right now? Can we get married right here in Vegas? Just you and me?"

"Tobias, you are drunk! We are drunk! We can't do that!" I laugh as I tug at his arm as I continue, "Plus, are you crazy? Christina, Will, and Caleb, they would all kill me for not inviting them to the wedding." I sober a little at the thought of marrying Tobias.

"Crazy in love with you, Tris Prior. I know how I feel about you. I have already lost you once, and I don't want to lose you again. I want to tie myself to you legally. I want to be with you forever and always. What do you say?"

"Okay. Forever and Always. I will marry you, Tobias Aaron Eaton." I shout, grinning at him like a crazy person, the alcohol in my bloodstream clouding my judgment again. Tobias pauses as he whispers seductively into my ear, "What's your middle name? I don't think I have ever asked you before."

"Elizabeth."

"Beatrice Elizabeth Prior, will you marry me, right now, this very minute, right here in Vegas?"

"Yes!" I scream at the top of my lungs, causing a few people nearby to stare at us. Tobias yells back to them, "Don't worry, she just agreed to marry me!" He has a wide smile on his lips, grinning like a fool at the small crowd of people.

Tobias whispers excitedly, "Let's get married tonight! I don't want to wait another minute," his lips hover against mine for a moment then he hungrily kisses me. "Be my valentine for every day for the next million years, Tris." He whispers against my lips as he pulls my hips against his. "Tobias, I think you have had too much to drink," I reply lightly, my fingers drag down his shoulders playfully as he responds, "I have not. I can even count backwards and walk a straight line for you." As he is speaking, he begins walking heel-to-toe, counting backwards at the same time. My head begins to spin, giving me a headache, watching him, as I laugh, "Okay! Okay! I believe you!" He smiles, tilting his head, he says, "Good, I love you. Now let's get married!"

Tobias pulls me into a small white chapel. He eyes me as he asks, "Do you want to get married in what we are in, or do you want to rent clothes?" I eye him in his black suit, he has been wearing it all night, and I giggle, "No, you look ready for a wedding."

"I do, but are you sure, you don't want a wedding dress?" He asks, his eyes staring into mine as if he is attempting to reach my soul. My eyes float down to my little black dress. I wore it to dinner, thought, it would look cute for casino hopping, and bar hopping, little did I know I would get married in it. Without another thought, I say, "Let's get married." The courage mounting, my heart pounding in my ears, from fear or excitement, maybe a little of both. Before I know it, Tobias and I are standing inside Graceland wedding chapel, and Elvis is going to marry us. _If Caleb could see me now, he would laugh at me._

The whole ceremony is a blur from beginning to end, and I can't tell you one thing that happened during it. All I remember is the feeling of nausea as it consumed my stomach, and wanting to vomit from the amount of alcohol I had consumed. Tobias and the room begin to spin as the ceremony comes to a close. Next thing I know, Tobias and I are back in the hotel, he is pinning me to the wall, he spins me as we fall onto the bed together. He cushions my fall with his body, and shifts his weight, as we kiss each other madly, desperate for each other. His lips against mine, feel like something I have never experienced before tonight. It must be all the alcohol in my system.

His lips and hips move in sync against mine then together with mine. His lips move to my neck, erratic breaths and groans leave my mouth as he hitches my leg around his hip. My fingers grip his shoulders, trying to take his jacket off as his fingers slide down the curve of my spine, drawing me closer to him, his other hand rolls my skirt up over my stomach. Once my skin is bare to him, his fingertips lightly drag over me, tickling my bare stomach. His lips move along my neck, he places open-mouthed kisses on my skin as he attempts to unzip my dress, but his fingers won't work. I giggle as he runs his nose along my neck, new stubble tickles along my neck as he plants those open-mouthed kisses on every inch of my hot skin. My skin boils hotter with every kiss that he places on it. He looks up and his eyes connect to mine, his eyes hold a mixture of lust, promises, love, and devotion as he whispers against my lips, "That is the best sound in the world still. I love you, Tris with everything that I have."

The sunlight hurts my eyes as they open, and a pounding headache wakes me from my slumber, "What the hell happened last night? Are the first words I utter as I look at Tobias, sleeping peacefully next to me, his face turned into the pillow facedown. My head feels like a hammer is pounding into it, and I wish it would stop. Why am I wearing part of Tobias's dog tag? Bits and pieces of last night slowly flashback to me. _Holy Shit! We got married by Elvis!_

My eyes fly open in shock as I run to the bathroom in time to throw up in the toilet. "Tobias!" I yell, but he is right next to me, he moans, "Please, lower your voice, my head is pounding. I glance at him, and burst out laughing, he is wearing his boxer briefs, sunglasses, and his hair is a mess. It is going in every direction. He grimaces, "You think I look bad, you should see yourself." At his words, my eyes fly to the mirror, my hair is standing up looking like a crazy person with my bra and panties, and sunglasses on. I giggle, "We both look like a hot mess!" My eyes land on his dog tag once again, wrapped around my neck, as I ask whispering, "Did we get married last night?"

Tobias glances at the dog tag, then slowly says, "I think so."

"And you gave me your dog tag in place of a wedding ring?" I ask, breaking into laughter.

Tobias's face drops as he says, "Shit! I am so sorry, Tris! This is not, how I envisioned anything going at all when we went out last night. You didn't deserve a shotgun wedding. You deserve a big wedding with a white dress, not a drunk wedding, that neither of us can really remember. I messed up! I didn't even have a ring for you."

"You! Christina is going to kill me! She already told me that whenever you finally propose to me, she wanted to be the one to design my wedding dress! How am I going to tell her that we decided to get married on the fly!" I say, panic lacing my voice, as I place my head into my hands. Arms wrap around me as I hear, "I'm sorry, Tris. We will figure a way to fix this. I promise."

Suddenly, an idea comes to me, "Wait, we could just pretend that none of this ever happened. That we never got married in the first place." I say, liking my idea even more, now that I have spoken life to it. Tobias asks, his voice dropping, "You don't want to be married to me?"

"One day Tobias, but I-" Tobias stops me mid-sentence as he says, "No Tris, I don't want to hear another word." He walks away from me, grabbing his clothing from the floor, throwing them on as he goes, and walking out the door. As the door slams shut, I fall to the bed in a fit of tears. Tobias and I have been in a good place since I came home, we have talked a lot about the future, but now this, this has the potential to derail us forever.

 **Tobias POV**

I angrily slam the button for the elevator and wait when it doesn't come I bang it again. I need to fix this if this is the last thing that I do. Tris is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I can't let this Vegas wedding, marriage, whatever you want to call it ruin our relationship. I need to fix this! I need to fix this right the fuck now! God this stupid elevator is slow. It is as slow as ice thawing. I have seen the US Government move faster than this elevator with reaching a deal with a budget in a time of a shutdown.

Tris looked beautiful last night under all the lights of the dance floor. The moment that I saw her underneath those lights in her dress looking like a fallen angel with her black and red-tipped hair, I got the stupid idea to ask her to marry me, right there and then. I should have bitten my tongue and ignored the urges like I normally do. I have wanted to propose to her so many times, it is why I have a damn engagement ring hiding in one of my suitcases. I have had the damn thing burning a hole in my pocket since before Tris came back from Will and Christina's. One day, on the way home from work, while Tris was in New York, Christina skyped me, and together we picked out the perfect ring for Tris. I can't wait to see that ring on her finger, and now I may have messed all of that up if I can't fix what happened.

I drive to Graceland Chapel, the place we got married last night, images flash through my mind, as I find Elvis standing in the entryway, he smirks at me as he says, "Oh Romeo, you are looking a little worse for the wear this morning. Did Juliet keep you up all night or did you finally realize your marriage was a mistake, after all?"

Anger surges through me as I gruffly say, my head pounding, not wanting to put up with his shit, "Shut the fuck up! Listen, my girlfriend and I were here last night, and we made a mistake!"

"Not, my problem dude, but for a price, we can change that whole marriage thing."

"How much do you want?" I ask, not wanting to know the price, not caring about the price, if it means Tris will be happy again. My bank account isn't great at the moment from moving, having to pay for most of this move out of pocket and waiting for reimbursement. My heart is breaking inside at the idea of not being married to Tris anymore, but if it will make her truly happy, then I will live with it, somehow. A voice breaks my inner turmoil as I hear, "Ten thousand dollars, and I can make that marriage license go away forever."

"Are you nuts?" I ask, knowing that I don't even have five grand in my bank account at the moment, I will need to wait until payday to figure out a solution to this problem.

The Elvis smiles sardonically at me as he says, "Nope, but I know you are desperate!"

"Not that desperate!"

"Have fun when Juliet finally comes to her senses and cheats on you or divorces you, Air Force Boy, then you will be wishing that you had paid up! Maybe when you have to leave to go overseas she will cheat on you, that is always when all the cheating happens, it always does. I hope she leaves you, she isn't going to be able to deal with your lifestyle. A divorce will be much more expensive. God, I hope she takes you to the cleaners with your divorce." The Elvis says baiting me, I turn to him, seeing red, and punch him in the jaw, knocking him back into the wall, and I walk out the door as I hear, "Bye Romeo!"

An idea comes to me to check at the county's clerks' office about a marriage certificate, but first I swing by the hotel to pick up Tris. As I am walking into the hotel, I see a little store in the corner of the lobby, and in the case, I see a rose gold bezel art deco diamond band. It will match her engagement ring perfectly that is hiding in one of my suitcases, and I need to have that band on her finger now. Unlocking the door, the room is completely dark with the curtains drawn, I whisper quietly, "Tris."

There is no answer. I hear sniffling, and as my eyes adjust to the lack of light, my eyes are immediately drawn to her. She is curled up in the fetal position on the bed in my old Air Force t-shirt. My heart sinks in my chest. I did this to her. I messed up big time. Hearing her cry over this situation, hurt worse than anything I have ever experienced in my life, worse than finding out Stacy was cheating on me the first time, worse than when my father used to beat me. I pick her up, gently rock her as she continues to cry into my chest, gripping my shirt in her fists for dear life.

 **Tris POV**

Maybe being to married to Tobias won't be so bad. So what if this isn't going according to my life plan. Maybe life has other plans for me. When has anything gone according to my plan in my life? I have often thought about being married to him, and about what it would feel like to be Mrs. Eaton, last night we made that official. I feel the bed sink next to me. "Tobias?" My voice is hoarse from crying as I hear, "Baby, please, stop crying. I will fix this. Get dressed, and come with me."

"But, I thought you were angry."

"No, not at you, never at you. At myself, love. I was stupid. Come with me, please." He whispers, kissing my temple. As I get dressed leaving Tobias looking at his phone, I feel drained from last night, and the roller coaster of emotions from this morning. I hear, "That bastard!" Shouted from the other room.

"What?" I ask, peaking around the corner from brushing my hair. "Nothing, come with me!" He says, grabbing ahold of my hand, dragging me out of the room. I jokingly giggle, "As long as it isn't to get married again."

Tobias kisses my cheek as he says, "I think, I have a way to fix this!"

"Actually, I kind of like the sound of Mrs. Eaton, don't you?" I ask, quipping an eyebrow at him shyly. He smirks at me, his eyes lighting up, "Yes, a million times! I love the sound the name Mrs. Eaton for you!" He answers, picking me up, spinning me around the room with him. My heart speeds into high gear as I hear my new last name fall from his lips, and a smile spreads across my lips.

Tobias holds a box out to me once he places me securely onto my feet, as he says, "It's not an engagement ring, but since we did get married, you deserve a wedding band. I saw it, and thought of you." I open the box to reveal a beautiful rose gold diamond band. "It's gorgeous, Tobias!" I whisper, "Would you like to do the honors?" I ask, giving him my left hand. He grins as he takes my hand, slipping the band onto my ring finger, a smile on his lips. He kisses my knuckles, then says suddenly, "I love you, but I do want to look into something before we leave Vegas today."

"Okay, I love you too," I whisper. As we check out of the hotel room, Tobias drives us to the county clerk's office, and I wait in the truck as he goes in. He returns looking dejected as he says, "We never got a marriage license last night, Tris, technically, we aren't married. We only had a ceremony." My heart drops with this new knowledge "Tobias, I don't need a stupid piece of paper to be legally married to you. Last night, we got married, we both know it." I whisper leaning over, breathing in his scent. He smells like metal, soap, and Tobias. His eyes look sad as my lips gently brush his, trying to reassure him, as he asks, "Really?" He sounds unsure about my answer as I stare into his eyes. I don't have an answer for him, instead, I pull on his dog tag, pulling him closer to me, to kiss him. As we part, I ask, "Now, what are we going to do for your wedding band?"

"I can't wear one when I fly, the g-forces are too strong for one." He whispers as my eyes drop sadly as he says suddenly a hint of a smile in his voice, "I have the perfect idea on how to solve the wedding ring problem, but it will have to wait until we are closer to the East Coast. How do you feel about a tattoo, Tris?"

"Really?" I ask, surprised at his idea about a tattoo as he replies, "Really!"

 **Thoughts and opinions, please review. I can't wait to hear them. Did anyone expect to Tris and Tobias to have a fake wedding in Vegas? Did anyone expect Tobias to actually have an engagement ring yet for Tris and not use it after the fake wedding? Next chapter will be up on the weekend of September 14. Also, I do have a Pinterest board that I post pictures to that has some inspiration for each chapter, the link can be found on my profile.**


	35. Chapter 34 Save Me A Spark

**Hello Readers, thank you to everyone who continues to read and comment on this story, your support means the world to me. I don't own Divergent and all military-related mistakes are mine. Happy Reading!**

 **Chapter 34 Save Me A Spark**

"You ready to paint down our memories?" Tobias murmurs, as we drive down an unrecognizable road in a state I'm not sure about, the red sandy desert started to blend together miles ago. "What?" I ask, confusion lacing my voice, as I peek over the rims of my sunglasses at him, as we drive over the Arizona state line. The sunrise this morning is breathtaking: oranges and pinks fill the sky, breaking the darkness, lighting it with wondrous color. I hum, unsure where he is going with this as he continues, "It's like that song you like. Do you want to paint down your memories so we don't forget? Although, in this case, tattoo our memories?"

"You were serious? You want to get a couple's tattoo?" I ask. I thought he was joking when he talked about getting a tattoo with me in Vegas.

"Yes, Tris." His eyes meet mine for a quick second as he drums his fingers against the steering wheel as he continues, grinning at me, "I am always very serious, at least where you are concerned. Although our marriage in Vegas wasn't legal, much to my disappointment, in my mind, we still got married, and I am one hundred percent committed to you. I am not taking that commitment lightly, and I want the whole world to know."

"Well, maybe not the whole world." I grin back at him, nervously, my mind snaps to Christina, Will, my brother, all who would freak if they found out that I tried to drunkenly marry Tobias. "Especially not Christina, Will, or Caleb because all of them would kill me, and probably you too for not inviting them to the wedding. Oh, probably not Zeke either, unless you want to be made the punch line of every joke for the rest of your life."

"Okay, fine not Christina, Will, Caleb, and definitely not Zeke. Anyone else you don't want to tell?" He asks, glancing at me, his expression serious, the most serious I have ever seen it, as I answer, "Maybe we shouldn't tell anyone at your new base either about how the great Captain Eaton got drunk and illegally married in Vegas. I'm pretty sure that would make you the laughing stock of the new base."

His face falls as he asks, "Are you ashamed of our fake wedding?"

"No, I'm worried about what everyone will think . . . of you, of me." I whisper, as he says smirking at me, "I don't care what anyone has to say about me. We both know what really happened that night in Vegas."

"And what was that?" I ask, laughing, "Because some of the details are still a little hazy to me."

"Me too, but we made a commitment to each other. I don't need a stupid piece of paper to be married to you." He replies, smiling at me, laughing, "One day, Tris, you will be in a white dress walking down the aisle to me, and you will really be Mrs. Eaton, that much I know for sure." He says kissing each of my knuckles. I raise an eyebrow at him, as he starts to say something else. I hold up my hand, and say, "Tobias, let what happened in Vegas stay in Vegas. I will happily wear my ring, but you have a career to protect."

He stays silent, not saying a word, not agreeing or disagreeing with me. He pulls into a tattoo parlor's parking lot in Arizona, and he looks at me, quipping an eyebrow, as he says, "You ready?" I grab his hand, squeezing tightly, panicking inside slightly at the idea of getting a tattoo. Tobias rubs the back of my hand with his thumb as we walk across the parking lot, and my nerves disappear.

The tattoo parlor is modern looking with sharp lines of black and white. As we look at the walls and all the different designs, a man whose arms are covered in ink comes out drying off his hands, and asks, "Can I help you?"

"Yes, we have an appointment," Tobias says.

"Oh yes, your last name is Easton, right?" I burst out giggling at Tobias's facial expression, as Tobias says, "Actually, it's Eaton." Tobias smirks correcting him, as he glances toward me, I smirk at him, as the man says, "Right sorry, I'll be right with you. Give me a minute and let me just set up. Do you both know what you want?"

"Yes." Tobias says as I answer, "No." I turn to him with a surprised expression on my face, and ask, "What are you getting?"

"On the underside of my left-hand ring finger, I was going to get the date of our nonwedding, but I ultimately decided against it. I wasn't sure when, or if we got married again, what the new date of our wedding would be. I decided on getting the word that I was so scared to tell you. What felt like forever, to finally admit to you and to myself. The word that I like to tell you all the time because it makes me feel so good to say." He whispers in my ear, holding me close to his chest. I smile as I look into his eyes. "Love." My heart hammers in my chest, as we both say the word, at the exact same time.

"I like that idea. I think I may just steal that one, and get a matching one with you. But instead of on my left-hand ring finger, I'm going to get it on my right-hand ring finger." His eyes light up at the idea of my tattoo matching his.

The tattoo hurts to get done, but it is over quickly. Tobias holds my hand as I am getting the tattoo done. I bite my lip, as he whispers sweet nothings into my ear, each time, he whispers into my ear, his lips brush my ear sending a shiver up my spine, his words send heat into my cheeks as he repeats dirty song lyrics into my ear. At the end, as the tattoo artist is washing his hands, he kisses me sweetly on the lips, then whispers seductively against them, praising me for how well I did with the tattoo, sending another round of heat into my cheeks. When the tattoo artist finishes with my tattoo, he wraps my finger, giving me instructions on how to care for my new tattoo.

When it is Tobias's turn for his tattoo, he doesn't even bat an eye. He talks to me the whole time, my eyes on the tattoo gun, wondering how I survived the process of ever getting a tattoo. Tobias gently holds my hand, never squeezing once, even when the tattoo artist hits a sensitive spot on his ring finger. Tobias and I hold hands as we leave the shop together, and he opens my door to the truck, then he drives us to our next stop: The Grand Canyon.

The landscape is vast and open. I feel like an ant standing at the edge as Tobias stands behind me holding me. I have never seen anything like it. At night, a few locals, light off fireworks that go off over the canyon. "I love you." He says, playing with my wedding band.

"I love you, Tobias," I whisper, leaning on my tiptoes, kissing him. He pulls away, looking at me with all the love and devotion in the world. "Tobias?" I ask. "Yes?" He asks sweetly. "How do you know that I am the one you want to spend the rest of your life with?" I ask.

"I just do Tris. I can't explain it. You make me feel like I can be the best person that I can be. You make me want to get up in the morning. Because with you, I don't feel like I am drowning in everyday life, and you make me want to live life with no regrets." He says, pulling me down next to the campfire. "You wanna roast some marshmallows?" He asks, sticking some onto a branch.

"Sure!" I laugh as he catches his marshmallows on fire, then we feed them to each other from off the charred branch. The marshmallow goo goes everywhere as it explodes all over my lips, as I wipe it off with my fingers, I turn my sticky lips towards Tobias, and I ask, "Did I get it all?" Tobias whispers "You missed a spot," just before his lips meet mine, licking off the goo from them, pulling me on top of him for another long passionate kiss. We both pull away from the sticky kiss breathless, his breath fanning over my lips, as our foreheads rest against one another, as I stare into his eyes, I whisper, "Tobias, I love you."

"And I love you." He says as he rolls us onto our backs, and we stargaze out in the open desert. My mind drifts to the first time I stargazed with Tobias in the back of his truck as we lay there, and how much my life has changed since then."Did you see that?" I ask excitedly, seeing a shooting star for the first time. "Yeah, legend has it that you are supposed to make a wish when you see one and it might come true." He whispers into my ear, his breath sending another round of chills up my spine. I close my eyes and wish with all my might for Tobias and me to always be together in this life: that our relationship will always be strong enough to overcome whatever life throws at us.

 **Thoughts and Opinions? Please review and let me know what you thought of this chapter. What do you think of Tris and Tobias's tattoo choice? Can't wait to hear your opinions. Next chapter update will be on the weekend of September 28.**


	36. Chapter 35 Life Can't Get Much Better

**Thank you to everyone who continues to read and comment on this story. I don't own Divergent and all military-related mistakes are mine. Happy Reading!**

 **There were a few people who I couldn't reply to so I'm going to do it here.**

 **Jojoboo90: I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter and found it romantic. I think it would be run to roast marshmallows in the desert.**

 **Guest: I'm glad you liked the tattoo idea, it was something that I put a lot of thought into when I was trying to figure out what to give them, and the tattoo itself has a lot of back story involved.**

 **DivergentWitch: As fas as Tris and Tobias attempting to hide their fake marriage from their friend, that will be addressed in a later chapter. I'm not going to ruin it for you, but don't worry it will be brought up in another chapter.**

 **Chapter 35 Life Can't Get Much Better**

As Tobias and I drive the Raptor onto the Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, after almost a week of Tobias's leave, my eyes glance over to Tobias's face; he looks exhausted. He smiles at me as my mind drifts back to the cross country trip: to all the new places we visited together as he promised. Like Albuquerque, New Mexico, Tobias and I passed through, the desert was beautiful to look at through the windows. In Armarillo, Texas, Tobias surprised me with stopping at a museum in honor of racing horses history. We laced our fingertips together and spent the afternoon meandering around the place learning history.

A smile tugs at my lips as my mind shifts to the night on the Ferris wheel in Oklahoma City, when Tobias kissed me at the top attempting to calm my nerves atop the huge wheel. In Tulsa, Oklahoma, Tobias and I stood in the center of the universe together, declaring our love for one another. The Saint Louis Gateway Arch quickly fills my mind as my fingers play with the empty keyring awaiting its new house key. The arch was huge up close. Tobias was adamant about getting a picture of me with it. I felt like an ant as I stood by the archway with Tobias staring at it with wonder.

As we drove into Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, on the final leg of our trip, I spotted an Andy Warhol Museum as we walked down the street, and I dragged Tobias into it. We spent much of the day looking at the paintings inside, picking out our favorites. I purchased a pop art reprint painting to hang on the wall of our new home of butterflies. Later that night, Tobias surprised me by bringing me to my first ever baseball game. My eyes catch on Tobias's baseball hat sitting between us as the memories of how carefree Tobias looked at the game fill my mind, how bright the stadium lights were, how loud the crowds were, and how everything smelled like beer, hot dogs, and popcorn. A brick entryway with a sign above reading: Andrews AFB, Main Gate, sits in front of Tobias and me, and I am brought back to the present from my memories of our trip.

Tobias stops the truck, hands over our IDs, then begins to drive again. Another sign, as soon as Tobias and I start driving down the road can be seen, reading, U.S. Air Force, Andrews Air Force Base, Joint Base Andrews. Suddenly a rather large white and blue airplane is flying over, Tobias grins as I ask in shock, "Holy Crap, Tobias! Did you see that? Was that Air Force One?"

"Yes, but only if the president was on board." His eyes light up as he continues, "Welcome to Andrews, Tris. This base, pilots and provides security to Air Force One, along with some other important things."

"Really?" I ask, the shock evident in my voice, my eyes continue to follow Air Force One in the sky as Tobias says with excitement, "Really."

"Is that what you will be doing? Working with Air Force One?" I ask as Tobias shrugs his shoulders, as he says grinning at me, "Maybe, I won't know until I actually start working here. Although, I know one thing for sure, I will still be a pilot. Are you ready to see our new house?" Tobias turns onto California Avenue, as I answer, "Yes!" Excited by the idea of seeing where Tobias and I will be spending the next few months together. The thought of all that time with him, sends my heart beating quickly. _I only hope Tobias and I will be together at the end of his stay at Andrews._ As we pull up to a small, white house, a smile tugs at my lips, as I whisper, "It looks perfect," my eyes locked on our new place.

"It looks exactly like the one in Californa, Tris. All the houses on these bases look the same." Tobias grins, as I respond, "How many houses like this have you lived in before?" Tobias smirks, "Enough." I shake my head at him, as I grin, "No, Tobias this one is different." Tobias squints at the white dwelling once again, as he responds, "You're right. This one is different. This one is all ours." As his words hit my ears, I find myself falling even more for him.

Tobias and I walk hand-in-hand up the brick walkway, up the porch steps to the house. As I look at the porch, I can already imagine a porch swing hanging here. Tobias unlocks the door, and as I move to step through the doorway, he tugs me back, a grin on his face, as he lifts me into his arms, He grins, "We are going to start a new tradition together. Every new house we get, I'm going to carry you over the threshold." Together, we step into the new house.

Once inside the house, Tobias gently places me onto my feet as he kisses my lips. Although he was right, the inside has the same exact materials as the last place, the setup is completely different. There is an upstairs and downstairs. The house is empty still, our things aren't scheduled to get to this house until tomorrow at some point. My heart beats quickly as I remember Tobias goes back to work tomorrow, he grins, as he grabs my hand and says, "You want to go explore the base?

I giggle, winking at him, "Of course, Captain Eaton." His fingers gently skate up my sides as he tickles me, as laughter bubbles up, as he whispers against my lips, "That is still the best sound in the world." Tobias pulls me close against him to kiss me.

A giggle erupts from my lips as I laugh, "Too bad, the beard needs to go. I'm really starting to get used to it." Tobias grins, rubbing his prickly face all over my face, as I giggle once again, "Do we need to change before we go exploring?" My mind drifting to what Tobias would look like in his camouflage uniform, longer hair, and a beard. Tobias shakes his head as he answers, "No, I don't want anyone to know who I am today. For today, I just want to be Tobias for one last day with you, and I don't want to be Captain Eaton. Plus, if I put on the uniform, the facial hair and the longer hair needs to go."

"That's unfortunate. I was kind of liking the whole beach bum vibe you have going on especially when your California accent accidentally slips." I smile, teasing him, as I run my fingers through his floppy, messy, brown hair. He laughs as he says, "I'm pretty sure, my bosses in the Air Force, would think of my look right now as anything but cute." He grabs my hand, as we leave the empty house, and begin to wander the streets, learning the new base, getting lost together.

As we explore the base, Tobias points out the different uniforms, and which branch is represented by which uniform. He shows me, Army uniforms, Marine uniforms, Navy uniforms, and of course Air Force uniforms. I mostly see people in Air Force and Navy uniforms. My head spins as we walk through the swells of people in uniforms. Along a street, we find a museum, it displays the different branches of military history during the major wars. There is the evolution of guns, gas masks, and how military dogs have come into play into modern warfare. Tobias and I continue to walk around Andrews, we find one of the base signs and take a selfie in front of it. As we walk back to the house, Tobias's cell phone rings, he answers, "Hello?" He looks skeptical as he replies, "Yes, Sir." He begins to rub the back of his neck as he responds to an unheard question, "Okay, of course, sir." My mind wanders to who he is talking to, and what kind of conversation they are having as he replies once again, "I'm not in uniform, though, and I have my girlfriend with me." He shakes his head, as he rolls his eyes at me, as he answers, "Understood sir, I will be right over." Tobias turns to me, as he says, "That was my Colonel. He needs me to sign some papers, and turn in some papers in order to report tomorrow. Apparently, this can't wait. I'm sorry. Do you mind coming with me?"

"No, Tobias, whatever you need to do is fine with me," I say as I link my fingers with his as we attempt to find the Colonel's office. When we find the Colonel's office, a very intimidating older man is sitting behind a huge oak desk. Tobias knocks on the door, the man says, "Enter," not looking up from his stack of papers. Tobias leaves me outside, sitting in a chair, as Tobias says, "Sir, you wanted to see me."

"Captain Eaton, can you sign these papers. I don't know why your last base didn't have you sign these before you were released on leave. They came from the people in finance." The man says as he pushes a mound of papers towards Tobias, without looking up. Tobias begins to sign the mountain of paperwork, as he places the pen down onto the desk, I hear, "Captain Eaton, shut the door."

Tobias winks, smiling at me, as he shuts the door. Suddenly, I hear stern yelling, which isn't coming from Tobias. "But, sir. . ." There is another burst of yelling, "I don't want to hear it, Captain! You represent the Air Force even when you are on leave, not in uniform. Tell me, does anywhere in the manual talk about the allowance of facial hair or untrimmed hair?" Tobias replies, "Sir if you would allow me to speak."

"No, I don't care or know how things were done on your last base in California, but on this base, you are expected to be well-groomed at all times, even while on leave. Now get out of my office before I write you up!" I hear yelled, as I jump up out of my chair, as Tobias opens the door, his fists are clenched shut. "Let's go!" He says sternly, grabbing my hand, tugging me from the building. Once outside, I say, "Tobias, that guy, he was a jerk." Tobias pulls me further from the building as he turns on me saying, "That jerk, is my commanding officer, and he just reprimanded me like I was a two year old for having facial hair and untrimmed hair. That has never happened before. I should have never gone in there looking like that. I should have known better, I was trained better. At Travis, our commanding officers never cared how we looked during our leave, clearly, here they do." Tobias stops in front of a barbershop, he glances at it, as he continues, "I need to have it cut before tomorrow anyway, I may as well have them shave me too, it will save me some time tonight." I feel my lips frown as I watch all of Tobias's hair hit the floor, behind him. As the chair spins, I feel my heart hammer in my chest, and my breath catches. I forgot how sharp his jawline was hidden beneath his beard, how handsome he was underneath his shaggy hair. I feel my cheeks heat as my mind travels elsewhere as his eyes catch mine in the mirror.

When Tobias and I finally make it home that night, we set up the blow-up mattress in the corner of the living room, after unpacking a few boxes that we unloaded from the truck. The house seems so big and empty without furniture in it. The only things in the house, our suitcases, some pots and pans, and the blow-up-mattress. Tobias smiles as he selects a song from his phone, holds out his hand to me, and says, " Miss Prior, will you have this dance with me?" I smile at him, as I grab ahold of his fingers as he twirls me into his chest. We sway back and forth to the music. The beautiful song fits our situation to perfection. The song is about making the ultimate sacrifice for love, being willing to give everything up for someone you love because you love them that much. Tobias spins me out, as I giggle lightly, and he pulls me back towards him, catching me against his chest, as I stare up into his intense blue eyes, he leans down to kiss me. His soft lips gently press into mine, the pressure intensifies the kiss as he pours his love for me into the kiss. Together, we land onto the air mattress with a thud, both of us fumbling to remove the other's clothes. When his lips leave mine, he whispers against them, "I love you, Tris. I always have and always will. I'll love you until the day that I die. Thank you for staying with me." His lips hover against mine as I murmur, "I will always stay with you, through thick and thin, you are the very best thing to ever happen to me." He smiles, tugging me back down to him, his lips move against mine, as his body hovers over mine, as his fingers move lightly over my skin, sending chills up my skin. As we continue to kiss, we lose ourselves in one another.

"Morning, princess," Tobias whispers, into my ear, moving my hair. My eyes slide open to find him kneeling on the floor, next to the air mattress. I shut my eyes as I grumble, "No, too early!" Tobias laughs gently, kissing me on the forehead, as he says, "I'm leaving for the day, Tris. The movers will be here at some point today. I'm not exactly sure what time, but I will see you tonight. If you need anything call me."

"You got it," I answer as Tobias's lips touch mine. My eyes open to find Tobias standing in his camouflage uniform, he smiles as his eyes connect with mine, as he says, "There as those beautiful eyes, that I love so much." I grumble, replying to him, "Shut up, you kept me up half the night." He grins, kissing my forehead once again, as I feel myself drifting back to sleep.

The moving truck unloads all the furniture and boxes into the living room, that I hadn't seen since California, leaving me to figure out where everything belongs in the new house. As I stand there with all of the boxes, household supplies, and furniture, I come to the awful realization, I have no idea where most of this belongs or even where Tobias wants to put any of this. Most of the boxes I decide to wait until he is home later to tackle, and I move on to the suitcases full of clothing and valuables.

First, I unpack my one suitcase, which is easy. The tricky suitcases are going to be Tobias's, I leave his suitcases for last. I start with his suitcase full of his uniforms, hanging them the way I know he likes them in the closet. When I am halfway through his second suitcase, full of regular clothing, I find a small square, black, velvet box. It looks like a ring box to me. My heart skips a beat as I eye the box laying on top of a dress shirt. A hazy memory forms in my brain from the night in Vegas when we had a marriage ceremony, but no license, of Tobias proposing, mentioning something about having no ring when he asked me that night. I pick up the box as my heart and brain go to war, I sit there holding the box wanting to look inside to see what is inside of it, to see if it really is an engagement ring, to see if Tobias had been wanting to ask me to marry him for longer than one drunken night in Vegas. As I sit there holding the box, staring at it. One part of my brain hopes he doesn't plan on proposing anytime soon. I'm not ready, even though I told him I didn't need a piece of paper, the other part, the stronger part of myself, wants to become Mrs. Eaton for real, but I'm scared what that title will entail. I secretly hope he doesn't wait much longer, without opening the box, I wedge the box between another set of shirts, close the lid of the suitcase, and ignore the rest of his suitcase for the day, leaving it for him to deal with. When Tobias returns that night, he has a smile on his face, as he wraps his arms around me, as he says, "I missed you so much today."

"I missed you too," I say, smiling at him, as he leans down to kiss me, affectionately. As he pulls away, I ask, "How was work today? Did you find out what you would be doing?"

He grins, "Oh, let's not talk about work." I smirk at him, "Why?" Wondering what could have possibly been so bad about his first day on this new base as he says, "Let's just say, they do things here much differently than they did at Travis, and it will take some time to get used to. Not to mention, I saw the Colonel again today, he made a not so nice comment about me finally being in regulations." I giggle as I reply, changing the subject, "Well, then we won't talk about work anymore. I made dinner, but you are going to have to heat it up. I made it hours ago."

"I'm starving. I'm sorry, I'm so late tonight." I shake my head as I shoo him out of the room to get his dinner, admiring his butt in his fatigues. He shoots over his shoulder, "I see you!" I grin at him, "What?" He smirks, "You're checking me out!"

"In your dreams!" I reply, holding a pillow, ready to throw it at him, he laughs, "No, in my dreams you are doing much better things." Curiosity gets the better of me as I ask, "Like what?" He smiles, "Marrying me." I roll my eyes, toss the pillow at him, hitting him square in the chest, as he catches it, I ask, "Didn't we already do that in Vegas?" He smirks, "Yeah, but a real marriage, one with you in a white dress and a proposal. I love you, Tris." He tosses the pillow back at me, as I reply, "I love you."

Tobias returns with his bowl of pasta, and as he stuffs a forkful into his mouth, he asks, "Oh, did I tell you the best part about my job here?" I shake my head, as I say, "No, you didn't, you said you didn't want to discuss work."

Tobias grins, "I get to escort Air Force One whenever it flies anywhere." His eyes light up as gives me his news, as I ask, "Really? I am excited for you."

"Yes, but it will mean I will be away for extended periods of time but think of the stories I will be able to tell you. Think of the places I will get to travel." As Tobias speaks, my heart sinks at his happiness, as I realize how often he will be gone now. Tobias will be gone all the time, but at that moment, I see how happy he looks, I am happy for him. I feel my lips pull into a smile, his happiness contagious, as I hug him close, knowing I want to spend the rest of my life with this man, even if it means he is only home so many days a month.

"I'm happy for you," I say, trying to hold myself together, as he grabs my chin, "Hey! I promise to call you every night, my love. Nothing will happen to me. You will be so busy working once you find a job, you won't even have time to miss me." His lips meet mine sweetly as he rubs, my love tattoo on the underside of my ring finger with his fingertips.

 **Please review and let me know what you think. What do you think of Tris finding the ring box? If you were Tris would you have looked inside or kept the box closed? Next chapter will be up the weekend of October 12.**


	37. Chapter 36 Audrey HepburnJames Dean

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed and to everyone who continues to read this story, your support means the world to me! I don't own Divergent and all military-related mistakes are mine. Happy Reading!**

 **To my Guest reviewer who I couldn't respond to: You would have opened the ring box and spoiled the surprise? I think I would have been tempted, but ultimately I would have put the ring box back where I found it after fighting with myself all day to open it.**

 **To DivergentWitch: Yes, the Colonel isn't one to be trifled with here. A younger me would have opened the ring box, but as I have grown, I would have come to appreciate a good surprise.**

 **Chapter 36 Epilogue: If I'm your Audrey Hepburn Then You're My James Dean**

A note is left, tapped to the front wooden door: _Captain Eaton, Welcome Home! I'm hiding inside the house with a nerf gun. Here is the other one. . . The loser cooks dinner tonight. May the odds be ever in your favor. Xoxo Tris._

Standing in the corner, dressed in all black, back pressed to the wall, in a darkened house, lights all turned off, I wait for Tobias to get home. He has been gone for two long weeks while the President has been overseas conducting business.

Tobias called every night as he promised, but it wasn't the same. At first, I missed him terribly when he left. Slowly, I fell into a daily routine: one where I focused all of my attention on finding a great nursing job, one that I would love just as much as I loved working in the ER in California.

Headlights pulling into the driveway, draw me from the job hunting fantasy in my mind. I attempt to calm my breathing as keys jingle against the lock. I grip my fingertips into my thighs, I want to run to Tobias, to jump on him as soon as I hear the door handle move, but I stop myself. As I hear the door creak open, he mutters, "What the hell! Oh, you wanna play a game, do you?"

A loud bang bursts through the silent house as he drops his bags in the hallway. A knowing smile spreads across my lips as I push myself deeper into the shadows of the wall, trying to hide. My breathing seems loud to my own ears as he quietly walks past me in his green jumpsuit, gun in hand, fingers on the trigger. A giggle threatens to erupt from my mouth as a sly smile creeps across my lips as I shoot him in the middle back, and take off running up the stairs. "Hey! I didn't even see you there." He yells. I shout, laughing, "All is fair in love and war," running away from him. His heavy footsteps follow me up the stairs. He attempts to shoot me twice, narrowly missing me, the nerf bullets flying past my shoulder into the picture frames hanging on the wall. I taunt him, "You missed me, you missed me, now you have to kiss me."

He taunts, "Don't worry, I will kiss you, once I catch you," as I take off running up the next flight of stairs. I slam the bathroom door, and take off into the linen closet, hoping Tobias will go into another room. The linen closet creeks open. My heart pounds in my ears as Tobias's gun points at me. I scream at the top of my lungs as he stands behind his gun, a grin on his face as he shoots me in the shoulder. "That's for before. Now we are equal. Next time, I won't be so nice," he says. I scurry away into the shadows of the house, taking refuge under our bed in our bedroom. The bedroom door opens slowly, then shuts, hearing his heavy footsteps approach, sends my breathing into erratic spurts. Suddenly, I feel hands grip my ankles, dragging me out from under the bed. I spin and shoot him in the chest, as he straddles me, his gun trained on me. "I hope you have got something good planned for dinner tonight," he whispers, a sly grin plastered on his lips as he shoots his last nerf bullet at me, "because I win."

I smirk, whispering, "Actually, Captain Eaton, I do!" My fingers pull the gun's trigger, shooting him in the stomach twice. He looks shocked. He grabs the gun from me and throws it. He gazes into my eyes as his fingertips touch the hair that has fallen across my forehead from our nerf gun tag game, moving his rough fingertips to caress my cheek. My eyes close as he leans, his nose brushing mine, my heart accelerates as does my breathing, as he tilts his head, and my lips meet his soft full ones. As our lips meet, he pulls me closer to him, his thumb runs through my hair. I am breathless as he pulls his lips away from mine, a smile on his lips, as he leaves me wanting more, he whispers into my ear, "Actually, Miss Prior, I picked up dinner on the way home." His fingertips play with my rose gold diamond wedding band on my ring finger, the one I have been telling everyone is a commitment ring from Tobias instead of a fake wedding band.

Tobias and I had a lot of discussions, on the phone, on the nights he was gone overseas about our fake wedding in Vegas, we agreed our fake wedding wasn't something to hide, and I could tell as we talked, I was actually hurting Tobias when I suggested we ignore our fake wedding. Instead, after our conversations, I told anyone who asked about my ring; we had a commitment ceremony in Vegas, and he did the same to the few people he had become close to on this new base.

"You suck! I was hoping you would cook for me." I smack his chest, grabbing ahold of his chain necklace, pulling his lips to mine for another kiss. When the kiss ends, he helps me off the floor, flipping on the lights in the house, and as we reach the den, he grabs the fried chicken off the floor, going into the kitchen with the bag.

"What places did you go to?" I ask, slightly jealous at the idea he is getting to travel all over the world without me, as he brings me out a plate of mashed potatoes and chicken. He grins, picking up a drumstick, "That is top secret."

"Tobias! You promised me, you would tell me when you got home because you weren't sure if the phone line was secured." I pout at him. He raises an eyebrow at me as he replies, "Let's see, I went to England, Germany, Poland, France, several places in the Middle East, China, and Japan. The list goes on and on."

"Holy crap! You went to all those places in only two weeks?" I ask, wondering how he isn't dead on his feet. He smirks, "Yes, the President travels a lot. It was a hell of a lot of flying, but once Air Force One was safely on the ground, I got to go sightseeing while the less senior ranking member had to stay to guard the planes."

"What did you see?" I ask, bouncing up and down as Tobias pulls his phone out, revealing pictures of him attempting to take a selfie with the Eiffel Tower in France and Big Ben in London. "I wish, I could have gone with you. I have always wanted to travel overseas." I lament as Tobias sighs, "One day, I will take you, but in the meantime, this will have to do." His fingertips flip to another picture, revealing him, holding his wallet photograph of me, smiling next to him.

"Tobias, that is seriously the sweetest thing, anyone has ever done for me," I whisper as tears fill my eyes as I look at picture after picture of him, posing with his photograph of me, next to Big Ben, the Eiffel Tower, a huge stone castle in Germany, the Great Wall of China, and everywhere else he visited. He replies, "Well, I couldn't physically take you with me, but I figured until I can finally take you, this will have to do. I did bring you home some things."

"Really, I thought that wasn't allowed?" I ask as Tobias brings his fingers up to his lips, "Shh, what my higher-ups don't know, won't hurt them, especially the Colonel. I had to sneak it into my bag, since, we technically aren't supposed to be bringing anything back. Here, let me get my duffle bags." As he opens his duffle bag, he tosses me a box of my favorite English tea, he hands me a beer stein from Germany, and then he hands me two teacups from Poland wrapped in red Chinese silk.

"I couldn't fit anymore into my bags. If I could have, I would have brought you home some baked goods from France, more Polish pottery, dishes, Japanese ceramics. Almost everything, I looked at, I know you would have loved, but there was no way, I was fitting it into my duffle. I would have brought you back everything I saw if I could have. I would give you the world, Tris if I could. I'm sorry, I'm not home as much as I used to be. I still feel awful about it." He says, as he stares into my eyes, I whisper, cuddling into his side, "It's fine, Tobias, I don't need material things. I'm happy getting to spend time with you. Do I like how much your job makes you travel now, no, I don't, but I love you, and nothing is going to change that."

He mutters, "We are only here for a few months, I have good news and bad news for you." He cradles his arm around me.

"What?" I ask, not wanting to know what his bad news is, as he draws me further into his arms, "Good news, I won't be leaving anymore with the President for the time being. The bad news, my squadron is scheduled for deployment next. I don't want to go, Tris. I don't want to leave you. I feel like I just got you back. I feel like I just got home again." He whispers, looking into my eyes. My breath feels like it is knocked out of my chest, as I ask, "When?" He sighs, "In a few months, we are scheduled for deployment."

"Tobias, forever and always, I will be by your side, nothing is going to change that, no deployment or anything," I whisper as he kisses my temple, then leaves the room for a moment, when he returns, he draws me to my feet as he gets down on his knees. My heart beats quickly as my mind races, wondering if this is _the moment_.

"Tris, you are what dreams are made of. When we first met, you described yourself as broken, as damaged goods. You are anything but either of those things. I fell in love with you from the moment that we kissed, maybe even before then. Please stay forever with me. They say love is forever. Your forever is all that I need. I can't promise you forever or that things won't be broken, but I swear that I will never leave you. Will you live your life with me with no regrets? Because you and I are all I need in this life, Tris. Will you promise to slow dance with me when it is cold outside or in every new house that we move into? I promise to light up the darkness for you, to be the light at the end of the tunnel, you are the light on my darkest days. You asked me once, what my dreams are made of, and they are made of you marrying me again like, you did that night in Vegas. Let's get married again, Tris, and right this time, legally. I want to shout it from the rooftops! That is how much I want you to be my wife forever. So Beatrice Elizabeth Prior, will you marry me again?"

"Of course Tobias, I will marry you again. I will marry you every single day for the rest of my life." I say excitedly, as I fling myself at him on his knees. He tugs me into his arms, his soft lips meet mine as my fingers tug at his short hair. As the kiss ends, I am breathless as I playfully grin, "Are we going to have a marriage license this time?" The hazy memory of Tobias's drunken proposal swirls around in my memory as Tobias says, "Absolutely! There is no way, I am letting that happen twice in my life. I still can't believe, I was stupid enough not to give you this ring, I have had it for so long, buried. And how could I not remember to get a marriage license?" He laughs then adds "It's a good thing, I have a real engagement ring this time." He grins as he flips open the small black velvet ring box. In it, is nestled a 14 carat rose gold cushion cut diamond set in a retro vintage floral art deco design that matches my wedding band perfectly. "It's beautiful Tobias!" I whisper, tears in my eyes.

"So, is that a yes?" He asks, uncertainty evident in his voice.

"Yes! I will marry you again, Tobias." He jumps to his feet, pulling me with him. He lifts me up, spins me around, while his lips meet mine in another searing kiss that takes my breath away, and, in that instant, I can see my future with him, for the rest of my life, as long as Tobias and I are by each other's sides we can overcome anything as long as we are together.

 **End of book one. To be Continued?**

 **Thoughts? Opinions? What did you think of Tobias's proposal? Would you have accepted it, if you were Tris? If anyone is interested in what Tris's engagement ring actually looks like her ring inspiration can be found on the Pinterest board that I have made for this story. The link is in my profile. I know, I ended this story without giving anyone a warning, but this story was always intended to end here. However, I'm going to give everyone a chance to voice their opinions, I will have by the end a total of 3 books, the next one is longer, written for this version of Tobias and Tris. Do you want to read the next one? Please review, let me know what you thought of this chapter, and if you are interested in reading the next book in this trilogy that I have written. If I do decide to continue with publishing the next part of the story here, I won't be putting it up until early November probably. I need a little bit of time off, and I will be sure to add a note to this story to let you all know it is up. Thank you again to everyone who took the time to review and read!**


	38. Author's Note

Hey Readers,

I know, I told you all I would I have the next story, if I was continuing done by November, however, when I was doing my first round of editing, I had no idea how long, and how many chapters there were in this second one. For the readers who are interested in continuing on with this story, the prologue for the next story will be posted now! It is called _Darkness Before The Light_. I wanted to thank you all again for reading this story!


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